TY - JOUR
T1 - Food insecurity and dietary diversity among lactating mothers in the urban municipality in the mountains of Nepal
AU - Singh, Devendra Raj
AU - Ghimire, Saruna
AU - Upadhayay, Satya Raj
AU - Singh, Sunita
AU - Ghimire, Umesh
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Singh et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2020/1/14
Y1 - 2020/1/14
N2 - Background Adequate nutrition is essential during the lactation period for better maternal and child health outcomes. Although food insecurity and dietary monotony (defined as less diverse diet), two important determinants of undernutrition, are endemic in the rural mountains of Nepal, insufficiently examined and assessed for risk factors in mothers during lactation, a life stage of high nutritional demand. This study aimed to assess the status and factors associated with food insecurity and dietary diversity among lactating mothers residing in the mountains of Nepal. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in an urban municipality in the mountainous Bajhang District of far-western Nepal. The sampling frame and strategy led to 417 randomly selected lactating mothers. Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) and the tool “Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women” developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization were used to measure food insecurity and dietary diversity, respectively. Additional information on socio-demographics and risk factors were collected. Multivariable logistics regression assessed correlates of study outcomes. Results Overall, 54% of the households were food insecure, and over half (53%) of the mothers had low dietary diversity. Food insecurity status (mild food insecurity AOR = 10.12, 95% CI = 4.21–24.34; moderate food insecurity AOR = 8.17, 95% CI = 3.24–20.59, and severe food insecurity AOR = 10.56, 95% CI = 3.92–28.43) were associated with higher odds of dietary monotony. Likewise, participants with lower dietary diversity were 8.5 times more likely to be food insecure than those with higher dietary diversity (AOR = 8.48, 95% CI = 3.76–19.14). The monthly income of the family was positively associated with food insecurity. Participants’ (AOR = 3.92 95%CI = 1.76–8.71) or spouses’ (AOR = 2.90, 95% CI = 1.07–7.85) unemployment was associated with higher odds of being food insecure. Likewise, owning a cultivable land (AOR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.28–0.84) and participant’s unemployment status (AOR = 5.92, 95% CI = 3.02–11.63), were significantly associated with increased odds of dietary monotony. Conclusion The observed food insecurity and poor dietary diversity among lactating mothers, the correlates associated with these outcomes, may help local stakeholders to identify local health needs and subgroups for targeted interventions. Socioeconomically disadvantaged mothers should be specifically targeted for relevant programs and policies.
AB - Background Adequate nutrition is essential during the lactation period for better maternal and child health outcomes. Although food insecurity and dietary monotony (defined as less diverse diet), two important determinants of undernutrition, are endemic in the rural mountains of Nepal, insufficiently examined and assessed for risk factors in mothers during lactation, a life stage of high nutritional demand. This study aimed to assess the status and factors associated with food insecurity and dietary diversity among lactating mothers residing in the mountains of Nepal. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in an urban municipality in the mountainous Bajhang District of far-western Nepal. The sampling frame and strategy led to 417 randomly selected lactating mothers. Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) and the tool “Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women” developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization were used to measure food insecurity and dietary diversity, respectively. Additional information on socio-demographics and risk factors were collected. Multivariable logistics regression assessed correlates of study outcomes. Results Overall, 54% of the households were food insecure, and over half (53%) of the mothers had low dietary diversity. Food insecurity status (mild food insecurity AOR = 10.12, 95% CI = 4.21–24.34; moderate food insecurity AOR = 8.17, 95% CI = 3.24–20.59, and severe food insecurity AOR = 10.56, 95% CI = 3.92–28.43) were associated with higher odds of dietary monotony. Likewise, participants with lower dietary diversity were 8.5 times more likely to be food insecure than those with higher dietary diversity (AOR = 8.48, 95% CI = 3.76–19.14). The monthly income of the family was positively associated with food insecurity. Participants’ (AOR = 3.92 95%CI = 1.76–8.71) or spouses’ (AOR = 2.90, 95% CI = 1.07–7.85) unemployment was associated with higher odds of being food insecure. Likewise, owning a cultivable land (AOR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.28–0.84) and participant’s unemployment status (AOR = 5.92, 95% CI = 3.02–11.63), were significantly associated with increased odds of dietary monotony. Conclusion The observed food insecurity and poor dietary diversity among lactating mothers, the correlates associated with these outcomes, may help local stakeholders to identify local health needs and subgroups for targeted interventions. Socioeconomically disadvantaged mothers should be specifically targeted for relevant programs and policies.
KW - Food
KW - feeding behaviour
KW - food supply
KW - lactation
KW - mothers
KW - Nepal
KW - pregnancy
KW - rural population
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85077871095&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0227873
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0227873
M3 - Article
C2 - 31935272
AN - SCOPUS:85077871095
VL - 15
JO - PLoS One
JF - PLoS One
SN - 1932-6203
IS - 1
M1 - e0227873
ER -