Nutritional hazards of food taboos and preferences in Mid-West Nigeria

Ogbeide, OU

doi:10.1093/ajcn/27.2.213

Cited by 57 publications

(45 citation statements)

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“…The belief is that it leads children to theft. This practice has been reported by other studies [20, 26] and the relationship between eggs and theft has no basis in science. The current study further revealed that parity, educational level or occupation had no significant relationship with avoidance of foods due to associated taboos.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Food taboos and myths in South Eastern Nigeria: The belief and practice of mothers in the region

Ekwochi

Osuorah

Ndu

et al. 2016

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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BackgroundPoor nutritional practices especially in pregnancy and early childhood can result in dire consequences in the growth and development of a child.MethodsThis study using purposive sampling enrolled 149 women who had carried at least one pregnancy to term in Enugu south east Nigeria. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess association between avoidance of certain food in pregnancy and selected socio-demographic factors.ResultsApproximately 37 % of respondents avoided some foods in pregnancy due to food taboos and no relationship was seen between this avoidance of food and maternal educational attainment, parity (number of obstetrics deliveries) and occupation. Snail and grass-cutter meat were the commonly avoided food in pregnancy while egg were commonly avoided in children under-two years old. Some respondent believed eating snail and grass-cutter meat makes a child sluggish and labour difficult respectively while starting egg early for a child could predispose them to stealing later in life.ConclusionDiscussion about food taboos during antenatal care visits and during community education can help reduce the traditional belief about certain food in pregnancy and early childhood.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Food taboos and myths in South Eastern Nigeria: The belief and practice of mothers in the region

Ekwochi

Osuorah

Ndu

et al. 2016

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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“…Similar taboos against the consumption of animal protein foods by young children, with the associated warning that otherwise the child may sicken or die, have been reported from many parts of the world, including West Africa (Hendrickse, 1966, p. 344;Ogbeide, 1974) East Africa (Gerlach, 1969), India (Jelliffe, 1957), Malaysia (Wolff, 1965;Bolton, 1972), and New Guinea (Van Der Hoeven, 1958). Cassidy (1980) referred to taboos on giving animal protein foods to young children as part of her argument that toddler malnutrition from this and other causes is a form of culturally sanctioned benign neglect which may be deleterious to the individual but beneficial to the group as a form of population control, natural selection and adaptation to prevalent conditions of food scarcity.…”

Section: Childhood Food Taboos As a Cultural Adaptationmentioning

confidence: 68%

Food taboos, malaria and dietary change: Infant feeding and cultural adaptation on a Papua New Guinea island†

Lepowsky

1985

Ecology of Food and Nutrition

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Despite seemingly abundant food resources, child malnutrition is prevalent on Vanatinai (Sudest Island), Papua New Guinea according to government surveys. Cultural adaptations to new technology, new cultigens, and new political systems have resulted in changes in subsistence strategies from a greater reliance on the collection of wild foods to a heavy emphasis on cultivation of starchy tubers. These may have negatively affected the nutritional status of children and adults. Examination of infant and child feeding practices suggests that traditional taboos on consumption of animal protein by children under weaning age contribute to child malnutrition, but these taboos may be a cultural adaptation to an environment of endemic malaria. The evidence for an antagonistic relationship between host malnutrition and malaria and the policy implications of such a relationship are discussed.

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“…Food taboos and restrictions are particularly strictly observed during pregnancy as pregnant women are considered to be more vulnerable and hence what they eat must be regulated to protect the foetus and reduce the occurrence of complicated labour and delivery [19–25]. Other studies, however, indicate that failure to make use of available food resources in a given ecological zone due to taboos and beliefs is one of the major causes of malnutrition [26, 27]. This indicates that more research needs to be carried out on this crucial area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food beliefs and practices among the Kalenjin pregnant women in rural Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

Riang’a

Broerse

Nangulu

2017

J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine

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BackgroundUnderstanding food beliefs and practices is critical to the development of dietary recommendations, nutritional programmes, and educational messages. This study aimed to understand the pregnancy food beliefs and practices and the underlying reasons for these among the contemporary rural Kalenjin communities of Uasin Gishu County, Kenya.MethodsThrough semi-structured interviews, data was collected from 154 pregnant and post-natal Kalenjin women about restricted and recommended foods, and why they are restricted or recommended during pregnancy. Respondents were purposively selected (based on diversity) from those attending Maternal and Child Health (MCH) care in 23 rural public health facilities. Key informant interviews (n = 9) with traditional Birth Attendants (TBA) who were also herbalists, community health workers, and nursing officers in charge of MCH were also conducted. Quantitative data was analysed using SPSS software. Data from respondents who gave consent to be tape recorded (n = 42) was transcribed and qualitatively analysed using MAXQDA software.ResultsThe restriction of animal organs specifically the tongue, heart, udder and male reproductive organs, meat and eggs, and the recommendation of traditional green vegetables and milk was reported by more than 60% of the respondents. Recommendation of fruits, traditional herbs, ugali (a dish made of maize flour, millet flour, or Sorghum flour, sometimes mixed with cassava flour), porridge and liver, and restriction of avocadoes and oily food were reported by more than 20% of the respondents. The reasons for observing these dietary precautions were mainly fears of: big foetuses, less blood, lack of strength during birth, miscarriages or stillbirths, and maternal deaths as well as child’s colic and poor skin conditions after birth.ConclusionPregnancy food beliefs were widely known and practised mainly to protect the health of the mother and child, and ensuring successful pregnancy outcome. Given the deep-rooted nature of the beliefs, it is advisable that when nutritious foods are restricted, nutritional interventions should rather search for alternative sources of nutrition which are available and considered to be appropriate for pregnancy. On the other hand, nutritional advice that does not address these health concerns and assumptions that underlie successful pregnancy and delivery is unlikely to be effective.

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Nutritional hazards of food taboos and preferences in Mid-West Nigeria

Cited by 57 publications

References 0 publications

Food taboos and myths in South Eastern Nigeria: The belief and practice of mothers in the region

Food taboos and myths in South Eastern Nigeria: The belief and practice of mothers in the region

Food taboos, malaria and dietary change: Infant feeding and cultural adaptation on a Papua New Guinea island†

Food beliefs and practices among the Kalenjin pregnant women in rural Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

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