Suchergebnisse

Processing of plant foods has been in practice over a long period of time for various reasons; ranging from optimization of product quality, such as improvement in flavour, texture, nutrient density, and bioavailability as well as reduction in viscosity, bulkiness, and antinutritional factors/toxins or for improvement of functional properties for use in other food systems. Indigenous food fermentation is one of the oldest 'food biotechnological processes' dependent on the biological activity of microorganisms from which the development of fermented foods is achieved in the cultural history of human beings. Mango (Mangifera indica) is a tropical fruit plant that contains high levels of nutrients, fibre, macronutrients, micronutrients, and minerals as well as abundant bioactive compounds such as antioxidants and polyphenols reported to be an alternative to enhance body immunity. This study is to process fermented mango pulp flour and the effects of the period of fermentation time on the chemical composition and selected functional properties of mango pulp flours were examined. The fermentation time ranged from 0-72 h with Flour of the unfermented (0hr) Mango serving as control. Fermentation for 24hr to 72hrs significantly increased (p<0.05) crude protein and total ash in the flours. Ether extract and carbohydrates significantly decreased (p<0.05) in the flours with an increase in fermentation time. Significant (p<0.05) reduction in Bulk density, swelling index, and water absorption capacity occurred in the flour with fermentation. There was a significant (P<0.05) increase in Vitamin C and beta–carotene content of the fermented samples and this was constant as fermentation progressed across all the samples. Therefore, fermented mango flours have a great potential to be developed into healthy foods since antioxidants have the ability to improve immunity and anti-inflammatory response.

OBJECTIVES: Secondary data analysis in Bangladesh has found associations across agricultural production, women's empowerment, and nutrition outcomes. Less is known, though, about whether combining interventions across these areas is more effective than isolated interventions to improve agricultural diversity, diet diversity, and women's empowerment in Bangladesh. METHODS: The Agriculture, Nutrition, and Gender Linkages study used a cluster randomized controlled trial to evaluate impacts of agriculture, nutrition, and/or gender interventions on food production, diets, and empowerment. 160 blocks were randomized to control and 5 training models: (T1) nutrition by government agriculture extension agents (AEAs); (T2) nutrition by community nutrition workers; (T3) agriculture on production of nutrient-rich foods by AEAs; (T4) agriculture and nutrition by AEAs; and (T5) agriculture and nutrition by AEAs, and gender sensitization. Trainings targeted men and women together. 4000 farm households with a child under age 2 at baseline were surveyed 2 years apart. Impact estimates used endline data, adjusting for baseline characteristics using analysis of covariance. RESULTS: All treatments significantly improved agriculture production knowledge and adoption of improved production practices, more so in arms with agriculture training (T3, T4, T5), and for women than men. All treatments significantly improved nutrition knowledge, more so in arms with nutrition training, and for women than men. Household diet quality and child diet diversity significantly improved only in T2 and T4. Women's empowerment significantly improved in all treatments, and men's gender attitudes improved in T1, T4, T5, more so in the gender arm (T5). No impacts were expected or found on child anthropometry. CONCLUSIONS: Joint interventions had larger impacts than isolated ones, suggesting synergies across agriculture, nutrition, and gender. Impact on food and nutrition outcomes (food production or nutrition practices) required agriculture and/or ...

OBJECTIVES: Interventions to improve maternal nutrition are poorly integrated into antenatal care (ANC) services in India. Alive & Thrive aimed to strengthen delivery of micronutrient supplements and intensify interpersonal counseling and community mobilization implemented through government ANC services. We evaluated the impact of nutrition-intensified ANC (I-ANC) compared to standard ANC (S-ANC) on diet diversity, consumption of iron-folic acid (IFA) and calcium supplements, and early breastfeeding practices. METHODS: We used a cluster-randomized design with cross-sectional surveys at baseline (2017) and endline (2019) (n ∼660 pregnant women and 1800 recently delivered women per survey) and a process evaluation. We derived difference-in-difference effect estimates, adjusted for geographic clustering, gestational age, infant age, and sex. RESULTS: Coverage of interventions was high at endline; 70–90% women were contacted by frontline workers at home or nutrition centers. Women in the I-ANC arm were significantly more likely to have received counseling on core nutrition messages (10–18 percentage points [pp]) than those in the S-ANC arm. Dietary diversity improved modestly among pregnant women in the I-ANC arm compared to the S-ANC arm (effect: 8.3 pp). The number of food groups consumed increased slightly over time but remained low in both arms. The percentage of women who consumed 100 + IFA improved equally in both arms (from 8 to 25%). Small significant impacts were observed for any consumption of IFA and calcium supplements (effects 10.3 and 12.4 pp, respectively). Significant impacts were also observed for non-prelacteal feeding (effect: −6.3 pp) and exclusive breastfeeding (effect: 7.4 pp) but not for early initiation of breastfeeding. The process evaluation found that system-level and supply-chain challenges, household context, and local diet preferences affected implementation and uptake. CONCLUSIONS: Intensifying nutrition in existing government ANC services resulted in modest improvements in ...

© 2018 University of the Philippines Manila. All rights reserved. Background. The Philippines adopted the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) that serves as the government's flagship social assistance program for the poor. This provides short-term income support to poor families while investing on health and education to overcome future poverty. Objective. This study aimed to characterize the beneficiary and non-beneficiary households and evaluate the impact of 4Ps program on housing facilities and diet diversity. Methods. Quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate survey outcomes between 91 randomly sampled beneficiaries and 91 completely enumerated non-beneficiaries (incoming grantees). FANTA Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) was used as an indicator for dietary diversity while structured questionnaire on housing profile was based on BIDANI and CEM-UPLB tools. Results. The 4Ps beneficiaries had significantly higher maternal education, household size (ρ=0.038), and improved water source (ρ=0.004) than non-beneficiaries. Cash transfer among 4Ps households provided 11% increase in the average monthly income of P7,324 pre-transfer. Diet diversity using FANTA scoring (0-12) showed that nonbeneficiaries were significantly lower by 0.4 than 4Ps score of 7.9 (ρ=0.003). Maternal education was found to have significant positive correlation with diet diversity. Both groups had high cereals and fats intake (>90%) while low in complex carbohydrates and legumes (<31%). Conclusion. The 4Ps had positive correlation on housing profile and diet diversity among beneficiaries. Family Development Session should integrate practical methods on improving variety of foods, specifically, the low consumption food groups. Additionally, a review on the selection criteria based on the provincial poverty threshold vis a vis income of grantees must be implemented to accurately target intended beneficiaries.

We analyse data from the 2012 Comprehensive Nutrition Survey in the State of Maharashtra, India, which surveyed 2,630 households. This is a unique dataset because in addition to nutritional status of mothers and children, it has information on diets of women and children and household food security. This rich dataset allows us to address three issues: whether household food security predicts higher diet diversity in children aged 6–23 months; whether household food security predicts lower risk of undernutrition; and whether the lower risk of undernutrition in children who live in food secure households is mediated by improved diet diversity for children. We find that children from moderately food insecure and severely food insecure households are more likely to have lower diet diversity scores. We find that the odds of a child being severely stunted, severely underweight, or severely wasted are higher in severely food insecure households. After controlling for children's diet diversity, and other child, maternal and household characteristics, we find that household food security is no longer statistically associated with stunting, wasting, or underweight. However, diet diversity of children is statistically significantly associated with whether a child is stunted or underweight. Our results although not causal provide evidence for understanding the extent to which household food insecurity affects children's diet diversity and how both these factors affect nutrition outcomes in children. Our analysis informs Government of Maharashtra's and India's National Nutrition Mission in their efforts for formulating appropriate policies and programmes to address child undernutrition.

OBJECTIVES: In Africa, Nigeria has the largest economy and the greatest investment in agriculture. Yet, the country ranks 103(rd) of 116 in the Global Hunger Index, and only 23% of children receive diets with the minimum diversity. Inadequate consumption of nutrient-dense foods is an underlying cause of undernutrition. This study qualitatively evaluated the food production and consumption of rural households in Bauchi State, Nigeria. METHODS: Data were collected via six focus group discussions with 48 women of child-bearing ages 16–33 years, from farming households in six Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Bauchi State. Discussions were conducted in the Hausa language; audio-recorded, transcribed, translated into English, analyzed and organized into themes. RESULTS: Emerging themes include foods produced and consumed, food processing/preservation methods, foods perceived as nourishing and experiences of hunger. Commonly produced foods included nine starchy staples, seven legumes/oil seeds, 11 vegetables, four types of fruits and eight types of livestock. In three of six LGAs, commonly consumed foods were from only three food groups including starchy staples, legumes and vegetables. Dairy was listed only in two LGAs and meat in one LGA. Husbands reportedly ate good food, including meat outside the home, but such foods were often unavailable for household members. Participants believed that because they are women, and live in villages, one should eat whatever is available. Crops produced for their cash value were often not consumed. Harvested crops were preserved/processed via traditional methods associated with nutrient losses, including sun-drying and winnowing off the outer layers of milled grains. Mothers generally knew what foods were nourishing, but did not provide these for their children because these were sold for financial gain. Widespread food shortages, initially perceived to affect only women, reportedly disrupted household harmony and precipitated visible signs of child malnutrition. CONCLUSIONS: A ...