<p>Infant and young child feeding practices are suboptimal in Tanzania, but optimal nutrition during the first two years of life is critical for development. At this age, behaviors of caregivers determine children’s diets, but few studies quantify how fathers or couples jointly influence child feeding. We investigate how men and women shape the family food environment to determine children’s diets in rural Mara, Tanzania. This mixed methods study used quantitative baseline data from the Engaging Fathers for Effective Child Nutrition and Development in Tanzania (EFFECTS) trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03759821), including 960 rural households with both parents and a young child. Logistic and linear mixed effects regressions examined associations between parental determinants and exclusive breastfeeding (n=189) and child dietary diversity over one day and one week (n=764 children 6-23 months; n=597 children 9-23 months). Parental determinants measured knowledge of breastfeeding and complementary feeding, self-efficacy on provision of diverse or nutritious diets, workload away from home, social support, household savings, and couples’ communication and decision-making, indicating women’s empowerment. Qualitative data drew from formative research (July-August 2018) conducted with parents of children aged 0-36 months, including eight focus group discussions (FGDs) with mothers and fathers (four FGDs each, 31 and 30 participants, respectively). FGDs were transcribed, translated, quality checked, and coded to identify key themes. The odds of exclusive breastfeeding decreased with mothers’ higher workload away from home and increased with mothers’ reports of more frequent couples’ communication over household decisions. Higher child dietary diversity was linked to mothers’ reports of higher knowledge of nutritious foods, higher social support, and higher couples’ communication frequency and quality. Generally, fathers’ determinants were not associated with children’s diets. Qualitative findings indicated that knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding was common, but challenges of perceived breastmilk insufficiency, women’s workload, and concerns about breastmilk quality led to early introduction of complementary foods. Affordability was a common challenge to appropriate complementary feeding, while couples’ decision-making dynamics and attitudes and beliefs about foods had the potential to be both enablers and barriers. Interventions must improve nutrition knowledge and social support, and they must empower women through joint decision-making and more gender-equitable workloads between parents to enable optimal child diets. </p>

Thesis (Ph.D. Agricultural (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Regardless of the various measures implemented by the South African government to curb food insecurity, majority of rural households are still experiencing food insecurity at the household level. This could be because of the high unemployment rate that the rural households are experiencing, especially in the Limpopo Province. Despite rural household members exerting frantic efforts to acquire education, most of them still find it difficult to secure jobs, which results in them depending on social grants for a living. Still, social grant money alone is not enough to meet their entire families’ needs, including food acquisition. The aim of the study was to analyse food security looking at four dimensions, namely, food availability, access, utilisation, and stability among rural households of Capricorn and Mopani Districts in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Only two district municipalities in the Limpopo Province, namely, Mopani and Capricorn Districts, were chosen as areas of study. The two district municipalities were chosen because, previous studies and reviews reported that these municipalities are the most affected districts by food insecurity shocks in the Limpopo Province. The study used a cross-sectional survey, where a Multistage sampling procedure was employed. The villages were selected based on probability proportionate to size. The study considered a total of 346 rural households, comprising 173 rural households in each district municipality. A structured questionnaire was used as an instrument to collect data from rural households in the study area. In addition, the collected data was captured using Excel 16. Thereafter, the data was exported to SPSS Version 27 for analysis. Furthermore, to profile the socio-economic characteristics of households, assess food consumption patterns and identify the strategies employed to enhance household food security, descriptive statistics was used. To determine the food security status of rural households in the study areas, the four dimensions of food security were analysed separately. For instance, food availability was analysed using descriptive statistics whereas food accessibility was analysed using Household Food Insecurity Access Scale [HFIAS]. The HFIAS was also used to identify the food security status while Household Dietary Diversity Score [HDDS] was used to measure food utilisation. To measure food stability, a Likert Scale [LS] and descriptive statistics were used. Multiple Linear Regression Models [MRM] were used to determine the factors that influenced rural households’ food security status. On the other hand, the Multinomial Logistic Regression Model [MLRM] was used to examine the determinants of food security among rural households of Capricorn and Mopani district municipalities. The descriptive results established that most rural households from both Mopani District Municipality [MDM] and Capricorn District Municipality [CDM] consume different food groups. In this regard, a minority of rural households are classified as dietary diverse whereas a majority of rural households are still characterised as less dietary diverse due to the limited consumption of different food groups. This reveals that these households range from less food secure to moderate food secure, as illustrated by the food security results. Moreover, the descriptive results also indicated that a majority of rural households in MDM are classified as severely food insecure and that food stability was the component contributing to these households being severely food insecure. As for CDM rural households, the results showed that a majority of these rural households were moderately food insecure with food availability and food stability being the contributing component at CDM. The Multiple linear Regression Model [MRM] results in MDM revealed that the age of the household head, remittances, and access to credit positively influenced food security status. On the other hand, the Multinomial Logistic Regression Model [MLRM] results in MDM revealed that the age of household head, household income greater than R1000, household income between R1099 to R1999, household income between R4000 to R4999, income from salary and access to credit, negatively influence food insecurity status. The Multiple Linear Regression Model confirmed that the male headed households, age of household head, wages, employment status and household income negatively influence food security status in CDM. On the contrary, MLRM results revealed that gender of household head, income from wages, income from salary, old age pension grant, child support grant, household income above R1000 and access to credit for borrowing money positively influenced the food security status of rural households in CDM. In light of this, the study recommends that health practitioners should educate rural households about healthy eating habits and that having a variety of nutritious food type may increase food security. The Department of Agriculture should advise rural households to participate primarily in subsistence farming and that they should focus their agriculture on crops and livestock. This will enable them to enjoy diverse and balanced diets. In addition, the government should empower rural households to participate in development programmes. This may assist households to improve their livelihoods and may also lead to diverse sources of income, which may enhance food security. Furthermore, the government can further assist rural households by providing production inputs (such as seeds/seedlings, fertilizers, and water for irrigation), which may promote food availability, utilisation and accessibility. / NRF-DAAD

The objective of this research is to investigate the food security, food diversity and coping strategies used to access food in households in the Eastern Cape rural village of Timane in Idutywa, Eastern Cape, South Africa. A cross-sectional survey design was used in which a Coping Strategy Index questionnaire designed by Maxwell and Caldwell (2008) and a HDD questionnaire was used to gather data interviewing respondents. This study was conducted in the rural community of Timane which was divided into geographical groups from which household were randomly chosen. A total of 60 adults representing 60 selected households were interviewed to provide information on household dietary diversity. Data was collected on the socio-biographic and HHD parameters of households. Data was analyzed and presented as correlation, percentages, means and SDs. Up to 72% of household received state grants and the Spearman’s correlation between number of children and HDD score was r = 0.38 while that between number of adults in households and HDD score was r = -0.93. Food security in the Timane community largely depends on state grants and HDD increases moderately with the increase in children and decreases with the increase in adults per household. The majority of the households (72%) received state grants as a source of income within which old-age pensions constitute 28% and child grants 38%. The Spearman’s correlation coefficient between the number of children in households of respondents and CSI was 0.78 (P < 001) while that between the number of adults in households and CSIS was 0.2 (P < 001). Household in the rural community of Timane community were found to be food insecure and this gets severe with the increase in the number of children in households. / Life and Consumer Sciences / M. A. (Human Ecology)

No description available.

Contexte. La sous-nutrition est un problème de santé publique, surtout pour les femmes et les enfants dans les pays en voie de développement. Des tabous alimentaire pour cette population existent dans plusieurs régions du monde. Ce mémoire décrit la recherche sur les tabous alimentaires et les facteurs qui peuvent influencer la diversité alimentaire des femmes en âge de procréer. Cette recherche fait partie d’un projet d’intervention qui vise à réduire la mortalité maternelle et infantile dans le Sud et la Grand’Anse d’Haïti, un pays où environ la moitié des femmes en âge de procréer sont anémiques et un tier des enfants d’âge préscolaire ont une carence en vitamine A (WHO 2009, ICF 2018). Objectifs. L’objectif de ce projet est d’identifier et comprendre les tabous alimentaires qui existent chez les femmes enceintes et allaitantes dans la région. Un deuxième objectif est d’identifier les déterminants de la diversité alimentaire des femmes en âge de procréer et de déterminer si les femmes enceintes ou allaitantes ont une alimentation moins diversifiée que les femmes qui ne le sont pas. Méthode. Le devis mixte combine la recherche qualitative et quantitative. Les données qualitatives ont été recueillies avec des groupes de discussion. Pour la collecte de données quantitatives, des entretiens ont été menées auprès de mères d’enfants de moins de cinq ans, suivi par un relevé alimentaire de 24 heures. La diversité alimentaire des participantes a été évaluée avec la DAM-F de la FAO. Les déterminants de la diversité alimentaire ont été identifiés avec des analyses de régression logistique. Résultats. Les participantes des groupes de discussion ont identifié plus de 100 tabous alimentaires. La diversité alimentaire a été influencée par la région, ainsi que les caractéristiques du ménage et de la mère. Les femmes allaitantes atteignent moins souvent une diversité alimentaire minimale et consomment moins souvent les aliments des « autres légumes » et « autres fruits », mais ces résultats sont significatifs seulement dans le modèle non ajusté. Conclusion. Les tabous alimentaires pour les femmes enceintes ou allaitantes existent dans le Grand’Anse et le Sud d’Haïti. Il y a une grande variété de croyances entre les communautés et même dans la même commune. Ces restrictions alimentaires peuvent diminuer la consommation de micronutriments comme la vitamine A et le fer dans une population déjà à risque de malnutrition. Des messages clés à inclure dans les activités éducatives du projet vont être formulés à partir des résultats de la recherche. / Context. Undernutrition, including micronutrient deficiencies, is a global public health issue, particularly for women and children in developing countries. Dietary taboos in this population have been found to exist in many regions of the world, including in Haiti. This thesis describes research looking at dietary taboos and other factors impacting dietary diversity of Women of Reproductive Age (WRA). It is part of an intervention project aiming to decrease maternal and child mortality in the South and Grand’Anse of Haiti, a country where approximately half of WRA are anemic and one third of preschool-age children are deficient in vitamin A (WHO 2009, ICF 2018). Objectives. The objective of this research is to identify and understand food taboos for pregnant and breastfeeding women in the area, to determine what factors influence dietary diversity of WRA and if pregnant or breastfeeding women consume a diet that is less diverse than that of a woman who is not. Methodology. The research design included both qualitative and quantitative components. Qualitative data regarding food taboos was collected through focus groups. Quantitative data was collected through surveys and 24-hour recalls done with WRA who have a child under the age of five. Dietary diversity of survey participants was assessed using the FAO’s MDD-W and it’s determinants were analyzed through adjusted logistic regression calculations. Results. The focus groups revealed over 100 dietary taboos. Determinants of dietary diversity were related to the region, as well as characteristics of the household and mother. Breastfeeding women were less likely to attain the MDD-W and to consume “other fruits” and “other vegetables” though these findings were only significant in the non-adjusted model. Conclusion. Dietary taboos exist in the Grand’Anse and South areas of Haiti for pregnant and breastfeeding women. These taboos vary largely between communes and even within the same community. The restriction of these foods could negatively impact the dietary intake of many micronutrients, including vitamin A and iron. Key messages to include at educative activities through the intervention project will be formed based on results of this work.

Préoccupés par les pratiques agricoles qui nuisent à la santé humaine et environnementale, des réseaux d'agriculteurs équatoriens se sont organisés autour d’une alternative plus durable, l'agroécologie, au moment où une transition nutritionnelle conduit la population rurale à des niveaux sans précédents de surpoids et d'obésité, alors que persistent des carences en micronutriments, créant ainsi un double fardeau de malnutrition. À travers les réseaux d'alimentation alternative (RAA) basés sur l'agroécologie, les agriculteurs et leurs alliés reconnaissent de plus en plus les liens entre les pratiques agricoles saines et la consommation d'aliments sains. De nombreuses publications ont exploré la manière avec laquelle les interventions agricoles peuvent améliorer la nutrition, par exemple, en favorisant la diversité de la production, en augmentant les revenus et en renforçant l'autonomie des femmes. L'agroécologie possède un grand potentiel d’action sur ces mécanismes. Toutefois, comme l'agroécologie se répand souvent en tant que mouvement social plutôt qu'en tant qu'intervention systématique, des recherches empiriques sont encore nécessaires pour évaluer les liens entre l'agroécologie et les pratiques alimentaires des agriculteurs. Cette thèse explore comment les pratiques de production et le capital social promus par les RAA agroécologiques peuvent être associés à des pratiques alimentaires uniques, avec le potentiel de soutenir la santé nutritionnelle face à l'obésité et aux carences en micronutriments. Suivant une approche participative de recherche, un devis mixte séquentiel exploratoire comprenant l'ethnographie, des entretiens avec des informateurs clés, des discussions de groupe et une enquête transversale comparant des agricultrices appartenant aux RAA agroécologiques à leurs voisines agricultrices non participantes a été appliqué. Les résultats montrent que les participantes aux RAA ont obtenu de meilleurs résultats que leurs voisines à travers de multiples indicateurs d'adéquation et de modération alimentaires. Les analyses suggèrent en outre que les RAA agroécologiques soutiennent ces meilleurs résultats nutritionnels en renforçant la diversité de la production et le capital social qui, à leur tour, favorisent la consommation d'aliments issus de l’auto-production et de l'économie sociale (par exemple le troc), ainsi que la consommation d'aliments traditionnels. Ces résultats démontrent empiriquement comment l'agroécologie peut agir sur les mécanismes liant l'agriculture à la nutrition pour favoriser une alimentation saine. Étant donné la nature du mouvement agroécologique mondial, largement auto-disséminé, l'agroécologie peut représenter une ressource endogène importante pour soutenir le bien-être nutritionnel des populations rurales. / Concerned with agricultural practices that harm human and environmental health, networks of farmers in Ecuador have organized around agroecology as a more sustainable alternative. This comes at a time in which a nutrition transition has driven Ecuador’s rural population to unprecedented levels of overweight and obesity, even while micronutrient deficiencies persist, thus creating a double burden of malnutrition. Through agroecology-based alternative food networks (AFNs), farmers and their allies have increasingly recognized the linkages between healthy agricultural practices and healthy food consumption. A breadth of literature explores how agriculture interventions can improve nutritional outcomes, such as by promoting production diversity, increasing incomes and empowering women. Agroecology has much potential to act on these pathways. However, because agroecology often spreads as a social movement rather than as a systematic intervention, empirical research assessing linkages between agroecology and farmers’ dietary practices is lacking. This thesis explores how the production practices and social capital promoted through agroecological AFNs may be associated with unique dietary practices that hold potential to support nutritional health in the face of both obesity and micronutrient deficiencies. To do so, this research implemented a participatory approach and sequential, exploratory mixed method design including ethnography, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and a cross-sectional survey comparing agroecology AFN participants and their non-participant farming neighbours. Findings show that AFN participants out-performed their neighbours on multiple indicators of dietary nutrient adequacy and moderation. Analyses further suggest that agroecological AFNs support these dietary outcomes by strengthening production diversity and social capital, which in turn promote the consumption of foods from own-production and from the social economy (e.g. barter) as well as promote the consumption of traditional foods. These results empirically demonstrate how agroecology can act on agriculture-nutrition pathways to enable healthy diets. Given the largely self-spreading nature of the global agroecology movement, agroecology may present an endogenous resource for supporting rural nutritional well-being.

Food insecurity among postsecondary students and especially community colleges is a persistent social problem, but the prevalence continues despite much research. Postsecondary students experience food insecurity slightly differently from the general population and they are held to different rules to qualify for food support such as the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP). In this research I examine the prevalence, frequency, and duration of food insecurity experiences among Mississippi community college students. I begin with a discussion of the literature of food insecurity and policy used to address food insecurity. I draw upon Bourdieu’s theory of social fields, capital, and habitus to frame the experiences community college students navigate in their goal of credentialed human capital. I use an online survey and in-depth interviews to explore the connections between food insecurity, social capital, and cultural capital. I also examine dietary diversity as a predictor of food insecurity. This research found GPA, financial aid, social capital adequacy and adequate dietary diversity, were significant predictors of food insecurity and adequate dietary diversity was a significant predictor of food insecurity frequency. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.

A high rate of micronutrient deficiencies persists in Africa with the most vulnerable groups being women and children. The Moringa oleifera tree has been identified to help alleviate malnutrition at household level because of its rich content of vitamin A in its plant form - beta-carotene, iron and vitamin C. The objectives of this study was to identify households that consumed Moringa, to identify households that required diet diversification through the use of a Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) and to determine the acceptability of various dishes prepared from Moringa leaves as a possible contribution to the alleviation of malnutrition in resource poor communities. The dietary diversity score of the traditional Bapedi community is 4.7 and the results of the acceptability test of dishes prepared with Moringa indicated that Moringa could be recommended as an additional food ingredient to add micronutrient to the diet of Bapedi communities. / Agriculture and Environmental Sciences / M.A. (Human Ecology)

Food insecurity in South Africa is not due to a shortage of food in the country but to inadequate access to food by poor groups of individuals and households. Many people, who lost their jobs due to retrenchments or can’t find suitable jobs for various reasons, revert to street trading or other activities of the informal economy as a survival strategy. There is limited information on understanding the food security status and strategies used by street traders and their households in Durban. This study aims to understand the extent of food insecurity among street traders in terms of their access to food, the quality of food consumed and the strategies they used to cope with food shortage. A mixed research method composed of a survey, face to face interviews and observations were conducted with a sample population of 120. The findings of this study confirmed that the sector was dominated by semi-literate people who generated R2000 per month which was to be shared with an average of 4 members of their respective households. Consequently, the majority of street traders’ households lived below the poverty line, thus food insecure. Limited income compromised the quality of food consumed: energy dense food dominated their food; hence 59.2% suffered from communicable lifestyle diseases. The study recommended more studies in this field, the extension of the Isipingo census to the entire municipality and the decriminalization of street trading by the municipality in order to improve the food security situation of street traders. / Geography / M.A. (Human Ecology)

A high rate of micronutrient deficiencies persists in Africa with the most vulnerable groups being women and children. The Moringa oleifera tree has been identified to help alleviate malnutrition at household level because of its rich content of vitamin A in its plant form - beta-carotene, iron and vitamin C. The objectives of this study was to identify households that consumed Moringa, to identify households that required diet diversification through the use of a Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) and to determine the acceptability of various dishes prepared from Moringa leaves as a possible contribution to the alleviation of malnutrition in resource poor communities. The dietary diversity score of the traditional Bapedi community is 4.7 and the results of the acceptability test of dishes prepared with Moringa indicated that Moringa could be recommended as an additional food ingredient to add micronutrient to the diet of Bapedi communities. / Agriculture and Environmental Sciences / M.A. (Human Ecology)