Agedew Eskezyiaw, Abebe Zeweter, Ayelign Abebe
Center for Food Science and Nutrition, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Front Nutr. 2022 Dec 7;9:955391. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.955391. eCollection 2022.
Adolescence is a critical and neglected age group of the population in any form of nutritional intervention. A comprehensive study that assesses barriers that influence their diversified feeding habit is not well investigated in qualitative approaches. Therefore, this study was conducted to fill this gap by providing evidence on exploring barriers to diversified feeding habits of adolescents in the agrarian community, North West Ethiopia.
The aim of the study was to explore barriers to diversified feeding habits of adolescents in the agrarian community, North West Ethiopia.
A phenomenological qualitative study design was conducted among adolescents in the age group of 10-19 years, and adults in the age range of 25 to 64 years (representatives of farmers, agricultural, health, and education sectors). We conducted 24 in-depth interviews (12- adolescents, 4-health, 2- agricultural extension, 3-education, and 3-farmer representative) among purposively selected community groups. In-depth interview guides and observation checklist were utilized for data collection. The audio-recorded qualitative data were transcribed word by word into English. Finally, the translated data were exported to ATLAS ti version 7.1 software for thematic analysis based on inductive content analysis. All coded quotations, including memos written throughout the coding process, were then analyzed to identify themes inductively.
Dietary habit of adolescents in the study area was predominantly plant-based cereals with low protein, vitamins, and mineral contents. Adolescents have limited consumption of fruits, vegetables, and animal source foods. Adolescents with these feeding habits had suboptimal intake of micronutrients and proteins, which are crucial for their rapid growth stage. Individual-level barriers, family-level influence, dietary tradition of community, agricultural practice (poor agroforestry practice of the community, and poor agricultural practice to produce year-round diverse food items), and week multi-sectorial collaboration for nutritional intervention all influenced adolescent dietary habits.
Multiple layers of barriers influenced the diverse dietary habits of adolescents in the study setting. These multiple and interconnected influences ranged from individual level to multi-sectorial collaboration. Nutritional interventions should be implemented at the individual, family, agricultural, and multi-sectorial levels to improve adolescents' diverse dietary habits.
在任何形式的营养干预中，青少年都是人口中一个关键且被忽视的年龄组。一项评估影响其多样化饮食习惯的障碍的综合研究，在定性研究方法中尚未得到充分调查。因此，本研究旨在填补这一空白，通过提供关于探索埃塞俄比亚西北部农业社区青少年多样化饮食习惯障碍的证据。
本研究的目的是探索埃塞俄比亚西北部农业社区青少年多样化饮食习惯的障碍。
对10至19岁的青少年以及25至64岁的成年人（农民、农业、卫生和教育部门的代表）进行了现象学定性研究设计。我们对有目的地选择的社区群体进行了24次深入访谈（12名青少年、4名卫生人员、2名农业推广人员、3名教育人员和3名农民代表）。使用深入访谈指南和观察清单进行数据收集。录音的定性数据逐字转录为英语。最后，将翻译后的数据导出到ATLAS ti 7.1版软件中，基于归纳性内容分析进行主题分析。然后对所有编码的引文，包括在编码过程中撰写的备忘录进行分析，以归纳识别主题。
研究区域青少年的饮食习惯主要是以植物为基础的谷物，蛋白质、维生素和矿物质含量低。青少年对水果、蔬菜和动物源性食物的消费量有限。有这些饮食习惯的青少年微量营养素和蛋白质的摄入量不理想，而这些对他们的快速生长阶段至关重要。个人层面的障碍、家庭层面的影响、社区的饮食传统、农业实践（社区不良的农林业实践以及生产全年多样化食品的不良农业实践）以及营养干预方面薄弱的多部门合作都影响了青少年的饮食习惯。
多层障碍影响了研究环境中青少年的多样化饮食习惯。这些多重且相互关联的影响从个人层面到多部门合作不等。应在个人、家庭、农业和多部门层面实施营养干预，以改善青少年的多样化饮食习惯。
