Abdelmenan, Semira ORCID: 0000-0003-2753-8364 , Berhane, Hanna Y., Turner, Christopher ORCID: 0000-0002-8091-1108 , Worku, Alemayehu, Selling, Katarina, Ekström, Eva-Charlotte and Berhane, Yemane (2024) Perception of affordable diet is associated with pre-school children’s diet diversity in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: the EAT Addis survey. BMC Nutrition, 10 (47). pp. 1-10. ISSN 2055-0928 (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s40795-024-00859-5)

Preview

PDF (VoR) 47868_TURNER_Perception_of_affordable_diet_is_associated_with_pre-school_childrens_diet_diversity_in_Addis_Ababa.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract

Background
Despite improvements in food access and nutrition security over the last few decades, malnutrition remains a major public health problem. One of the significant contributors to these problems is affordability of nutritious food. This study aimed to examine the association between perceived food affordability and pre-school children’s diet diversity in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Methods
Cross-sectional data from 2017 to 18 were used for the analysis. A 24-hour dietary recall assessment was done to assess children’s dietary diversity (DD). We used a modified operational definition of affordability indicator called perceived affordability of dietary diversity (afford-DD) to evaluate the impact of the food environment in terms of affordability at the household level. A sample (n 4,898) of children aged 6–59 months representative of households in Addis Ababa was randomly selected using a multistage sampling procedure including all districts in the city. Mixed-effects linear regression models were used to assess the association between children’s DD and afford-DD.
Results
The survey revealed that the mean (standard deviation [SD]) of children’s DD was 3.9 [± 1.4] while the mean [SD] of afford-DD was 4.6 [± 2.1]. Overall, 59.8% of children met the minimum dietary diversity (≥ 4 food groups). White roots and tubers were the most commonly consumed food groups regardless of their affordability. Considerable variations were observed between households that reported the food item affordable and not affordable in consumption of Vitamin A rich vegetables and fruits, meat and fish, egg, and dairy. The children’s DD was positively associated with afford-DD after adjusting for maternal education, household wealth status and other relevant confounding. Higher maternal education modified the association between affordability and children’s diet diversity.
Conclusions
This study suggests higher perceived food affordability was associated with better diet diversity in children. A higher level of maternal education had the potential to mitigate affordability challenges in meeting the children’s dietary diversity needs. Our study emphasizes the need for inclusive food programs and nutrition interventions addressing social differences, intensifying efforts to make nutrient-rich diets affordable for the less privileged, and highlights the potential benefits of targeting maternal education in addressing child dietary diversity.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	diet diversity; food environment; Ethiopia; children; dietary diversity; affordability; food environment; nutrition
Subjects:	R Medicine > R Medicine (General) R Medicine > RJ Pediatrics S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General)
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Engineering & Science Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Centre for Food Systems Research Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Centre for Food Systems Research > Food Systems & Nutrition
Last Modified:	09 Sep 2024 11:20
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/47868

Actions (login required)

View Item

Downloads