Preschool children consume diets inadequate to meet their macro and micronutrient requirements, which ultimately affect their nutritional status due to lack of dietary diversity. A cross sectional study was conducted to investigate the association between dietary diversity scores (DDS) and the nutritional status of 379 preschool children in North West Province of South Africa. A 24 h qualitative recall by mothers of their children’s food consumption was used to calculate DDS based on 12-foods groups following Food and Agriculture Organization protocols. DDS was calculated by counting each of 12-food groups and classified as low (≤4), medium (5–8) and high (9–12). The weight and height of children were measured and height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-age (WAZ) and BMI-for-age (BAZ) z-scores were calculated based on 2006 WHO standards. Stunting, underweight and thinness were defined as HAZ, WAZ and BAZ < −2SD, respectively. Linear and logistic regression analyses were used to assess the association between DDS and the nutritional indicators. Mean age for children was 4 ± 0.7 years, and the prevalence of stunting (29%), underweight (13%) and thinness (6%) was observed. Mean DDS was 4.39 ± 1.55 out of 12-food groups, with a prevalence of 61% and 39% for low and medium DDS, respectively. Cereals (100%) accounted for the main food group consumed, while fish and other seafood (17%) were the least consumed. Consumption of a diversified diet was associated with lower odds of being stunted [AOR = 0.25, 95%CI: 0.10 to 0.92] among the four-year olds, while in the unadjusted model, 5-year-olds had lower odds of being underweight [OR = −0.32, 95%CI: −0.57 to 0.07]. The findings of this study reinforce the importance of continued nutrition education of mothers, caregivers and preschool staff on the need to ensure consumption of diverse food sources in order to improve the nutritional status of children. Further studies are recommended on the association of DDS with the nutritional status, and factors associated with low dietary diversity among preschool children.

Background: Food insecurity is a growing public health issue and a barrier to students achieving adequate nutrition. Data regarding food insecurity among university students in Nigeria are scarce. Objective: The study assessed the prevalence of food insecurity and associated factors among university students, southeast Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 398 randomly selected students recruited from 2 universities in southeast Nigeria was conducted. Food security status was assessed using the 10-item US Household Food Security Scale Module. Anthropometric measurements and sociodemographic data were collected. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with food insecurity. Results: A majority of the students were categorized as food insecure. Of this, about 35.7% and 45.0% were considered to have low and very low food insecurity, respectively. Food insecurity was significantly associated with monthly allowance, daily amount spent on food, and source of income. The odds of food insecurity was significantly higher for students whose fathers were farmers (4.6, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.453-14.737), but lower for those whose mothers were farmers (0.18, 95% CI: 0.059-0.564). Conclusion: The result provides an insight into the food security status of university students in Nigeria. The prevalence of food insecurity was high among the students. Therefore, further studies involving different urban and rural (and/or public and private) universities in Nigeria are suggested in order to have a deeper understanding of the magnitude and contributing factors among this population group.

Assessment of anaemia and iron status of school age children (aged 7-12 years) in rural communities of Abia state, Nigeria

The purpose of this study was to provide information on anthropometry, body composition and energy intake of adolescents South Eastern Nigeria. The participants were 190 apparently healthy adolescent boys and girls aged 15-18 years with equal sex distribution. Participants were subjected to anthropometric measurements viz: height, weight, arm circumference and skinfold thickness. Energy intake was determined from individual weighed inventory for three consecutive days including a week-end day; part of the food sample was subjected to chemical analysis. According to the results, all measurements except BMI and arm circumference had significant differences (p<0.05). Approximately 50% girls and well over 70% boys failed to meet the recommended weight and height standards. Over 20% of the adolescents were thin (BMI<18.5kg/m2). The prevalence of overweight indicated that about 4% of boys and 2% of girls were at risk of becoming overweight. Similarly the prevalence of stunting was found to be 67.3% and 57.8% for boys and girls, respectively. In addition, body fat percent was significantly higher in girls (p<0.05). The mean intakes for fat, carbohydrate and energy was significantly higher in males compared to females (p<0.05). This research provides information concerning anthropometry, body composition and energy intake of adolescents, South East Nigeria. The result shows that there was under nutrition among the adolescents though the extent was higher among adolescent boys than girls, body composition of the adolescents was equally low. Also protein intake was grossly inadequate in both sexes. Therefore there is a need for improvement in the nutritional status among these adolescents.

The rising prevalence of obesity and excessive adiposity are global public health concerns. Understanding determinants of changes in adiposity over time is critical for informing effective evidence-based prevention or treatment. However, limited information is available to achieve this objective. Cultural, demographic, environmental, and behavioral factors including socio-economic status (SES) likely account for obesity development. To this end, we related these variables to anthropometric measures in 1058 black adult Tswana-speaking South Africans who were HIV negative in a prospective study over five years. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference increased in both sexes, whereas triceps skinfold thickness remained the same. Over the five years, women moved to higher BMI categories and more were diagnosed with central obesity. Age correlated negatively, whereas SES, physical activity, energy, and fat intake correlated positively with adiposity markers in women. In men, SES, marital status, physical activity, and being urban predicted increases in adiposity. For women, SES and urbanicity increased, whereas menopause and smoking decreased adiposity. Among men, smokers had less change in BMI than those that never smoked over five years. Our findings suggest that interventions, focusing on the urban living, the married and those with the highest SES—the high-risk groups identified herein—are of primary importance to contain morbidity and premature mortality due to obesity in black South Africans.