Nutrient composition of commonly used complementary foods in North western Nigeria (original) (raw)
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African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 2014
Adequate nutrition is important during infancy and childhood where a short period of malnutrition has long lasting effects on growth, development and health in the adult life. The period from six months to two years constitutes a critical window of opportunity for promoting optimal growth, health and development, while insufficient quantity and quality of complementary foods (CFs), poor feeding practice and high rate of infection have a detrimental impact on growth in these important years. This study was designed to evaluate the nutrient composition and suitability of four commonly used complementary foods in two Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional survey involving women with children aged 6-24 months old was carried out in two randomly selected LGAs to identify the commonly used CFs. A total of 300 consenting mothers (150/LGA) aged 18 to 60 years presenting their children for immunisation in the two LGAs were respondents. A pretested, semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge on breastfeeding, complementary feeding practice, and types of CFs used from the respondents. Standardised samples of the four most commonly used CFs were prepared and analysed for nutrient and anti-nutrient composition using standard AOAC methods of analyses. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Chi square test, with level of significance set at p = 0.05. Two types of unripe banana porridge, one mashed bean porridge, and mixed cereal pap with crayfish and 'turn brown' (soybean flour, groundnut and crayfish) were the four most commonly used CFs. One hundred grams portion of the CFs contained between 2.52-6.70 g crude protein, 1.26-7.23 g crude lipid, 8.16-13.97 g carbohydrates and yielded up to 415.57 kcal of energy. The mineral content ranged between 31.58-230.40 mg potassium, 46.78-184.68 mg calcium, 55.23-120.93 mg phosphorus, 10.37-23.26 mg iron, 7.53-18.53 mg of zinc / 100g portion. The four complementary foods were nutritionally adequate and were low in anti-nutrients (oxalates, phytates, trypsin inhibitors, saponins and tannins), hence there is little risk of malabsorption of available nutrients. Utilization of unripe banana and mixed cereals with turn brown for infants provides cheap CFs with adequate energy and nutrients, and promotes biodiversity.
Nutrients
The nutritional quality of commercially produced complementary food (CPCF) varies widely, with CPCF in high-income settings often containing excessive levels of sugar and sodium. Little is known about the nutritional quality of CPCF available in the West Africa region, despite their potential to improve the nutrition of infants and young children (IYC). This study evaluated the nutritional quality of CPCF available in five West African countries using the WHO Europe nutrient profiling model (NPM) and assessed their suitability for IYC based on label information. The proportion that would necessitate a “high sugar” warning was also determined, and the micronutrient (iron, calcium, and zinc) content was assessed against IYC-recommended nutrient intakes. Of the 666 products assessed, only 15.9% were classified as nutritionally suitable for promotion for IYC. The presence of added sugar and excessive sodium levels were the most common reasons for a product to fail the nutrient profiling...
Acta Scientifci Nutritional Health, 2020
The second six months in a child's life opens with the complementary feeding period. During this period, breast feeding, though no longer adequate to meet the growing child's nutritional needs, is expected to continue. It is thus anticipated that complementary foods provide energy, macronutrients and micronutrients to bridge the gaps between daily requirements for infants and young children and the amount consumed through breastfeeding [1]. Unfortunately, complementary foods which ought to be energy and nutrient dense are more commonly of low quality in Nigeria [2]. Consequently, children aged 6-24 months are the most vulnerable group for malnutrition as 41% deaths of children in developing countries in this age group (2.3 million) is linked to this menace [3]. Nigeria has been ranked the country with the second highest burden of stunted children in the world with a prevalence of 32% of the children under five years of age. The states in northern Nigeria where malnutrition and insecurity now go hand in hand, are the most affected with wasting and stunting [4], thus, it is not unusual to see mothers carrying their malnourished babies around as though everything is normal; a large number not even aware of Complementary feeding in Low-and-Middle-Income-Countries (LMICs) such as Nigeria remains a major concern as the burden of childhood malnutrition has worsened in Northern Nigeria. The study was designed to formulate complementary foods using available staples, compare energy and macronutrient density to international standards, estimate the cost of production of the blends and carry out a sensory evaluation on the diets. Ingredients were purchased from a grain market in Gombe, Gombe state, Nigeria. The diets were formulated by a 60:40 (cereal/tuber : legume) mix ratio using a household level approach. Diet A: Sweet potatoes + millet + groundnut + bambaranut (25:35:30:10%w/w) Diet B: Tiger nut + millet + groundnut + bambaranut (25:35:30:10% w/w). Cereals, tubers and legumes were prepared using simple household level approaches. Diets were constituted and homogenously blended into fine powder, sieved, packed and labeled. Proximate composition analysis to determine macronutrient and energy density was carried out using standard analytical methods. Analysis of data was done using descriptive statistics.Th e results show that energy density of diets were between 4.04 ± 1.84 kcal/g-4.13 ± 2.84 kcal/g, crude protein (15.84 ± 0.59%-18.28 ± 0.35%), crude fat (5.84 ± 0.4%-8.41 ± 0.21) and were comparable to International Food Standard values as amended in 2017. Moisture values were between 1.17 ± 0.12%-2.46 ± 0.15% suggesting longer shelf life for the foods. Cost of production of 400g commercial packaging was less than 1USD (N272). The diets had good energy and macronutrient density, a very low cost of production and overall acceptability which presents as a strong tool in tackling malnutrition in low income populations.
IOSR Journals , 2019
Socioeconomic characteristics of mothers has been observed to have effect on the knowledge and kinds of complementary foods given to infants. This research examined the socioeconomic analysis of complementary diets fed to infant in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria. Interviewers administered questionnaires were used to obtain data for the study. 270 respondents (mothers) who presented their children for immunization were selected from five different Primary Health care centers in the Local Government Area. The result revealed that mothers preferred traditional home made (63.3%) to commercial complementary foods (33.7%)54.8% of the mothers were between the age of 28-37 years. 56.7% had secondary school education while 40% had a certificate from tertiary institution. 33% of the mothers engage in trading while 19.3% were employed by the state of federal government as civil servant. 44.4% of the mothers earn between ₦10,000-₦25,000 on monthly basis while just 1.1% earn above ₦70,000. 49.3% of the mothers reported that they start feeding their children complementary food from about 6-10 months. Cereals such as maize and sorghum form the majority of staple used in the formulation of complementary food in the study area, other food commodities are infrequently used.
Energy, Iron and Zinc Densities of Commonly Consumed Traditional Complementary Foods in Nigeria
Aim: To assess the energy, iron and zinc densities of ten selected commonly consumed traditional complementary foods in Nigeria. Study Design: Survey and Experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Hotel and Catering Management, Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, and Department of Human Nutrition, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria between June and August, 2004. Methodology: A validated interviewer-administered questionnaire was distributed to 600 nursing mothers and used to identify the most commonly consumed traditional complementary foods in Nigeria. Thereafter, ten traditional complementary foods were selected and analyzed for proximate composition, iron and zinc using Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) and Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometric methods. Results: The traditional complementary foods have high moisture content ranging from 55.80% to 91.17%. The protein content of the complementary foods ranged from 1.06g/100g to 13.81g/100g. The energy densities of the selected traditional complementary ranged from 0.48kcal/g to1.50kcal/g. The study revealed that half of the traditional complementary foods in this study did not meet the PAHO/WHO recommendation of 0.8kcal/g while the remaining half exceeded this basic requirement for energy densities. However, the high requirement of 7.7mg and 1.6mg for iron and zinc densities respectively, could not be met by any of the complementary foods assessed. Conclusion: Incorporation of some animal foods into these plant based diets will have a lot of advantages as animals-source foods are good sources of readily available haem-iron and zinc. Therefore, more recipes should be developed to improve the intake of animal source foods which are needed to ensure adequate protein, iron and zinc densities of complementary foods for infants in Nigeria.
In Northern Nigeria, malnutrition remains a major public health problem. This is because the predominant population of rural communities who are low income subsistence farmers cannot afford the commercial fortified infant's food. This research was design to formulate and assess the nutrient composition of a cost effective infant's diet from locally/readily available staple foodstuffs. This is aimed at improving the nutritional status of vulnerable infants and young Children in Northern Nigeria. Standard chemical methods were used to determine the nutrients and antinutrients of the formulated diet and the respective values compared to commonly used commercial complementary diet (as indicated by the manufacturer) in Nigerian market. The results showed that the crude protein of formulated diet was 16.29g/100g which is higher than 15g/100g for control (commercial weaning diet). The energy value of the formulated diet (416.7kcal/100g) is comparable to that of the commercial diet (410.0kcal/100g). The concentrations of zinc (31.0mg/100g) and iron (8.01mg/100g) in the formulated diet were significantly higher (p<0.05) than their corresponding values in the commercial diet. All the essential amino acids were present in the formulated diet. It can be concluded that proper selection and combination of local foodstuffs can provide a cheap and nutritionally rich weaning diet.
European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety, 2020
Toddlers malnutrition is a health problem in developing countries like those found in Sub-Saharan Africa. Owing to prevalence of poverty, families are generally not able to afford the commercial complementary foods available in the market stalls, since such complementary foods are imported and made from non-local foodstuffs. In order to overcome these issues, FAO/WHO recommends the use of local foodstuffs in formulation of complementary foods and defines the virtues that the complementary foods should possess. In this light, researchers in Sub-Saharan Africa have proposed several formulations of complementary foods. The present work reviews these research findings on complementary foods available in the Sub-Saharan Africa utilizing the local food materials, the treatment that is required to be meted to such food ingredients, nutritional quality of formulated complementary foods and ultimately their biological effects. The limitations of the research work, if any, has been highlighte...
Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition
Background: Mothers and caregivers typically feed infants according to their culture, purchase power and level of awareness with no due diligence to nutritional quality of the diet. Scientific evidence on nutritional adequacy of predominant complementary foods is critical for planning and prioritising interventions. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the quality of complementary foods and the optimality of complementary feeding practices in Southwest Ethiopia. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a stratified multistage sampling procedure was used to sample 433 children, 6-24 months old. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect demographic, socioeconomic and dietary data. Dietary diversity score was measured using a 24-h dietary recall. Six customary complementary food types were assayed for proximate composition, energy and mineral density using standard methods. Adequacy of the complementary foods in nutrients for complementary feeding purposes was assessed as a ratio between actual composition and recommended composition of complementary foods. Results: Only 16.1% of the children get the minimum dietary diversity. The children were reported to be fed with cereals & grains (68.8%), discretionary calories (53.6%), protein-rich foods (44.6%), oils and fat (40.5%), vegetables (38. 5%), dairy products (17.9%) and fruits (28.1%). The sampled foods contained 4.3-24.4%, 0.9-8.5%, 8.2-11.9%, 27.9-162.6 Kcal/100 g, 168.4-250.4 mg/100 g, 1.8-4.1 mg/100 g and 22.5-42.4 mg/100 g of total carbohydrate, crude fat, protein, energy content, calcium, zinc and iron, respectively. All the complementary food samples predominantly fed to children were not composed of adequate protein, fat, carbohydrate, energy and calcium as recommended for complementary feeding purposes. However, most of the complementary foods are composed of adequate iron and zinc. Conclusions: The nutrient density and diversity of complementary foods of 6-24-month-old children in the study area were found to be sub-optimal. Upgrading the nutritional composition of the starchy complementary foods should be of highest priority to improve nutrition of the infants and young children.
ICAN: Infant, Child, & Adolescent Nutrition, 2010
Diversification in complementary feeding of children is important in meeting the need for essential nutrients. This study investigated diet diversification in complementary feeding of children between the ages of 0 and 24 months. The cross-sectional study was carried out in Osun State of Nigeria and 450 mothers were interviewed. Results revealed that diet was based on cereals, roots, and tubers with little animal products. The consumption of protein-rich foods, both of plant and animal origin, was particularly low. None of these foods recorded 50% of total consumption, except for milk with 50.4%. Fewer than 30% of the children population consumed legumes. Foods such as meat, eggs, and fish recorded below 50% consumption as well. Cheese was not consumed at all in the rural communities. Only 9.7% consumed vegetables and 12.9% consumed fruits. Most of the children experienced stunting (58.2%), followed by wasting (7.8%), and underweight (23.8%). Diet diversity was also shown to be asso...
European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety
Background: Malnutrition is still among the leading causes of death in children <5 years, contributing to about 50% of infant deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa. Undernutrition is the more common form of malnutrition in developing countries, and results from insufficient intake of protein and/or energy, and may sometimes result from poor breastfeeding and/or complementary feeding practices. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of the baby’s life, followed by gradual introduction of complementary foods, with continuous breastfeeding till baby is at least two years. Most babies are not exclusively breastfed for six months, and even more not breastfed till 24 months. Most complementary foods in developing countries are homemade, with plant-based ingredients, using improper processing techniques, making them low in nutrient content. Aims: This work aimed at formulating Complementary foods from ten different proportions of local staples; yellow maize, rice, potato...