The Household Food Security and Feeding Pattern of Preschool Children in North-Central Nigeria

Abstract

Children’s feeding patterns and health outcomes are important determinants of any country’s food and nutrition security status. This study assessed the household food security and feeding patterns of preschoolers in Niger State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional descriptive design and a multi-stage sampling technique were employed to analyze 450 preschool children from selected local government areas. Household food security was measured using the HFIAS nine-item questionnaire, and feeding patterns were evaluated using the qualitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The mean age of the preschoolers was 3.71 ± 0.80 years. A majority (61.30%) of the children consumed cereal-based products, while fruits and vegetables were the least consumed (16.40%). More than half (59.80%) of the preschoolers met their minimum dietary diversity. Almost all (98.80%) of the children were from food-insecure households, with 40.3% being severely food insecure. Parity, religion, and having a breadwinner and source of potable water were significantly associated with the adequacy of minimum dietary diversity (MDD) among the preschoolers (F value = 5.528, p ≤ 0.05). The contribution of poor feeding patterns and household food insecurity to the overall health outcome of preschoolers cannot be overlooked. Hence, nations must prioritize improving the availability, accessibility, and utilization of food to better meet the nutritional needs of preschool children.

Maternal and household factors affecting the dietary diversity of preschool children in eastern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

“…Preschool children from households with access to piped/protected water sources for drinking were twice as likely to have ADD than those who drink from unprotected sources. This was compatible with studies conducted elsewhere 14 42. The time needed to obtain drinking water may be an opportunity cost for cooking/preparing diversified child food and was generally associated with reduced feeding frequency 59.…”

“…Only 19.47% of preschool children attained healthy dietary diversity in Haramaya, Ethiopia. This was lower compared with similar studies conducted in South-West Ethiopia (46.4%), 14 Nigeria (59.80%), 42 Thailand (79%) 43 and Malawi (39% vs 28% in the intervention group compared control group according to a randomised controlled trial). 24 The high percentage of LDD reflects poor nutrient adequacy in the diet of preschool children.…”

Is the household food security the nucleus determinant for the prevalence of stunting in Purworejo Regency?

“…Behind the household food security indicator, there are various other factors that influence it such as purchasing power, socio-cultural conditions, education, external and macroeconomic factors [60]. Therefore, household food security is a variable that can represent various other indicators behind it.…”

“…Proper feeding regularly and accompanied by hygiene practices can also reduce the risk of infections that can affect a child's growth. Poor households are synonymous with low levels of education and other social problems so that the inability to mix, combine, and process food ingredients worsens health conditions in children [60,63].…”

Investigating and Quantifying Food Insecurity in Nigeria: A Systematic Review

“…Sixty-three (80%) of the studies included in this review employed the most common FI measurement tool (Figure 4). The commonest method of measuring FI was through HFIAS, with eighteen studies [19,72,74,77,81,84,[89][90][91]93,95,[110][111][112]115,121,125]. The FI prevalence measured through the HFIAS module ranged from 36.9%, reported from a study that…”