Department of Nutrition Dietetics and Food Sciences, Utah State, University, Logan, USA.
Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Oct 14;24(1):2813. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-20183-8.
Household-level food safety practices may have a long-term outcome on the nutrition and health status of under-five children. This study explores the relationships between caregivers' self-reported food safety knowledge, behavior, perception of food safety control, and their young child's (< 5 years) nutrition status.
In a cross-sectional study design, 664 caregivers from five Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Ibadan, Nigeria were surveyed using an interviewer-administered questionnaire on their food safety knowledge, behavior and perceived food safety control. Anthropometric measurements of the household's index child (aged 6-59 months) were also taken. Variables for food safety knowledge and behavior score were selected using principal component analyses. The nutritional status of the children (Z-scores for weight-for-height (WAZ), height-for-age (HAZ), and weight-for-age (WHZ)) were calculated. Description statistics were run on all variables and logistic regression models examined associations between the three food safety constructs and the children's nutritional status. Covariates such as LGAs, caregiver's age, household size, wealth index, child's gender, and age were adjusted.
High-level of food safety knowledge, behavior and lots of perceived control on food safety issues were reported by 77.7%, 76.7%, and 81.1% of the caregivers. Using WAZ, HAZ and WHZ that are ≤ -2, acute malnutrition (6.0%), chronic malnutrition (42.5%), and underweight (22.0%), respectively were prevalent among the children. Perceived food safety control was the only food safety construct associated with acute malnutrition. Wealth index, caregivers' age, number of under 5 at home, child age, and gender were associated with acute malnutrition. Caregiver's age, child's age, and gender were associated with chronic malnutrition. Furthermore, caregiver's age, education and child's age were associated with a child being underweight. The significance level was at P < 0.05.
Factors associated with food safety and children's nutritional outcomes are multi-faceted in nature. Future studies should explore access to resources and other intermediate factors that may explain the linkage between childhood malnutrition and caregivers' food safety awareness, knowledge, and behavior. Public health and food safety initiatives to bridge the gap between perceived food safety control and actual food safety behavior/practices.
家庭层面的食品安全措施可能对五岁以下儿童的营养和健康状况产生长期影响。本研究探讨了照顾者自我报告的食品安全知识、行为、对食品安全控制的感知与幼儿（<5 岁）营养状况之间的关系。
在一项横断面研究设计中，对来自尼日利亚伊巴丹五个地方政府区（LGA）的 664 名照顾者进行了调查，使用访谈者管理的问卷询问他们的食品安全知识、行为和感知的食品安全控制情况。还对家庭中指数儿童（6-59 个月龄）进行了人体测量。使用主成分分析选择食品安全知识和行为评分的变量。计算儿童的营养状况（身高体重 Z 分数（WAZ）、年龄身高 Z 分数（HAZ）和年龄体重 Z 分数（WHZ））。对所有变量进行描述性统计，并使用逻辑回归模型检验三种食品安全结构与儿童营养状况之间的关联。调整了 LGA、照顾者年龄、家庭规模、财富指数、儿童性别和年龄等协变量。
77.7%、76.7%和 81.1%的照顾者报告了高水平的食品安全知识、行为和大量的食品安全问题感知控制。使用 WAZ、HAZ 和 WHZ，分别有 6.0%、42.5%和 22.0%的儿童存在急性营养不良、慢性营养不良和体重不足。感知的食品安全控制是唯一与急性营养不良相关的食品安全结构。财富指数、照顾者年龄、家中 5 岁以下儿童人数、儿童年龄和性别与急性营养不良相关。照顾者年龄、儿童年龄和性别与慢性营养不良相关。此外，照顾者年龄、教育程度和儿童年龄与儿童体重不足有关。显著性水平为 P<0.05。
与食品安全和儿童营养结果相关的因素具有多方面的性质。未来的研究应该探索获得资源和其他中间因素，这些因素可能解释儿童营养不良与照顾者食品安全意识、知识和行为之间的联系。公共卫生和食品安全倡议旨在弥合感知的食品安全控制与实际的食品安全行为/实践之间的差距。
