HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY AND ANTHROPOMETRIC STATUS OF WOMEN IN OBINGWA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA STATE

ABSTRACT

The present study assessed the household food security and anthropometric status of women in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State. The study employed a cross sectional study design. The population of the study were women that are not pregnant or lactating in Obingwa L.G.A. The sample of the study were made up of 203 women. Data for the study was realized using a structured questionnaire. Weights and heights of the women were measured from which their BMI was calculated. Hip and waist circumference were measured also from which their WHR was calculated. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics while the association between food security and anthropometric status of the women was done using chi-square. Data was analyzed using WHO anthropometric software and statistical package service software (SPSS). The result obtained was presented in frequency and percentage. The result of the study showed that  41.8% of the women were from 45 years and above, majority (94.0%) were Christians, almost half (49.3%) were civil servants, majority (64.2%) were married, almost half (49.8%) of the women sourced their food from market or farm and (34.0%) had acquired tertiary education. The food security status of the women showed that some (37.0%) of the women were food secure while 13.5% were severely food insecure. Some (32.8%) of the women were overweight, 21.9% of them were obese while 52.3% were at high risk of Cardiovascular diseases. The association between personal and socio-economic status and their food security status, the result showed that education, occupation and income level were all significantly associated with food security at 1% level, with X2 values of 45.23, 33.24 and 45.89. On the association between food security level and anthropometric status, the result showed that food security was significantly (P<0.05) associated with anthropometric status with  X2value of 43.93. Relationship between food security status and anthropometric status, the result showed that food secure were significantly(P<0.01) and positively correlated to BMI and WHR and severe food insecure were significant (P<0.01) and negatively correlated to BMI and WHR. The study concluded that food security status of the women in the area can have an effect on their nutritional status. The study among other things recommended that nutritional educational program should be organized for the women to help them improve their food choices.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE                                                                                                                                          i

CERTIFICATION                                                                                                                    ii

DEDICATION                                                                                                                         iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT                                                                                                        iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS                                                                                                          v

LIST OF TABLES                                                                                                                    vi

ABSTRACT                                                                                                                                            viii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION                                                                                            1

1.1 Statement of Problem                                                                                                                                                           4           

1.2 Objectives of the Study                                                                                                              5

1.3 Significance of the Study                                                                                                            5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW                                                                                   6

2.1 Food Security                                                                                                                                6

2.1.1 World food security                                                                                                                 12

2.1.2 Food security in Nigeria                                                                                                          14

2.1.3 Factors affecting food security                                                                                              16

2.2 Nutrient Needs of Women                                                                                         22

2.2.1 Energy Needs and Recommendations                                                                                  22

2.2.2 Protein needs and recommendations                                                                 23

2.2.3 Micronutrient Recommendations                                                                      24

2.3 Anthropometry                                                                                                                                                                       27

2.3.1 Anthropometric measurements                                                                                           29

CHAPTER 3: MATERIALS AND METHODS                                                                       28

3.1 Study Design                                                                                                                                 33

3.2 Area of Study                                                                                                                               33

3.3 Population of the Study                                                                                                              34

3.4 Sampling and Sampling Techniques                                                                          35

3.4.1 Sample Size                                                                                                                               35

3.4.2 Sampling Procedure                                                                                                                35

3.5 Preliminary Activities                                                                                                                  35

3.5.1 Preliminary visit                                                                                                                        36

3.5.2 Training of research assistants                                                                                              36

3.5.3 Informed consent                                                                                                     36

3.6 Data Collection                                                                                                                             36

3.6.1 Questionnaire Administration                                                                                               36

3.6.2 Interview                                                                                                                    37

3.6.3 Anthropometric measurement                                                                                             37

3.6.4     Food security assessment                                                                                                  39

3.7 Data Analysis                                                                                                                                40

3.8 Statistical Analysis                                                                                                        41

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION                                                           36

4.1 Personal and Socio-Economic Characteristics of the Women                              41

4.2 Food Security Status of the Women                                                                         45

4.3 Anthropometric Status of the Women                                                                                    47

4.4 Association between Food Security and Anthropometric Status of the Women 50

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSON AND RECOMMENDATIONS                                  56

5.1 Conclusion                                                                                                                                    56

5.2 Recommendations                                                                                                                      56

References                                                                                                                                         

APPENDIX                                                                                                                                           

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1            Personal and Socio-Economic characteristics of the women                             44                                    

Table 4.2            Food Security Indicators of the women                                                    46

Table 4.2b          Food security level of the women                                                       47

Table 4.3            Anthropometric Status of the women                                                       49

Table 4.4            Association between Personal and Socio-economic status of the

women and their Food  Security Status                                                        51

Table 4.5            Association between food security and Anthropometric status of

the women                                                                                                             53                   

Table 4.6            Relationship Between Food Security Status and Anthropometric

status of the women                                                                                             55

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Food insecurity is a common problem among the low-income households in developing countries of the world. Food insecurity is a condition whereby all people did not have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. The three basic components of food security policies, and programs in developing countries are availability (i.e., having sufficient quantities of appropriate food available), accessibility (having adequate income or other resources to access food), and utilization/consumption (having adequate dietary intake and the ability to absorb and use nutrients in the body) (Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 2018).

Food security is one of the targets of the Millennium Development Goals and is widely considered as important measure for evaluating the progress of a country in terms of wellbeing (Vasco, 2017). Despite, various concern by governments all over the world on ensuring that every household can at least provide three square meals for their family, food insecurity continues to be a major development problem across the globe, undermining people’s health, productivity, and often their very survival (Smith and Subandoro, 2017). Global hunger is severe, as nearly 30% of the world’s population is currently suffering from one or more forms of malnutrition, including inadequate caloric consumption, protein deficiency, poor dietary quality, and inadequate concentrations of protein and micronutrients (Basudeb et al.,2017).

Worldwide, approximately 840 million people are undernourished or chronically food insecure, and as many as 2.8 million children and 300,000 women die needlessly every year because of malnutrition in developing countries. (Basudeb et al., 2017). The situation is particularly worrying in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Household food insecurity has been associated with several health and nutrition outcomes. Women's nutrition affects a wide range of health and social issues, including family care and household food security. Food insecurity and under nutrition in adolescent and pregnant women, compounded with gender discrimination, lead to an intergenerational cycle of nutritional problems. One consequence is lowering of birth weight due to malnutrition in pregnancy, which perpetuates malnutrition between generations (Gundersen et al., 2019).

At a micro level, food insecurity can have serious effects on intra-household arrangements. It often results in inefficient and or ineffective income-earning decisions in that households may be forced to dispose of their assets in the short term in an attempt to meet current food security needs but in the process, increase their vulnerability or risk to future food problems or shortages. In addition, people can destroy their environments and habitats in an attempt to secure their food supply, causing damages that may be irreversible. Poor nutritional status among women can also affect the ability of household members to generate resources. A poorly nourished mother may stay at home, thereby wasting time which would have otherwise been spent on income generating activities. The findings from the 2018 Nigeria National Nutrition and Health Survey (NNHS) indicated that 6.9% of Nigerian women age 15–49 years were acutely malnourished and 3.8% were severely malnourished (NNHS, 2018). A report by the United States Agency International Development (USAID) revealed that Women’s nutrition is also of concern in Nigeria, facing the double burden of malnutrition: prevalence of overweight/obesity is 25%, with a prevalence of undernutrition at 13.7%.

Household food insecurity is identified to be prevalent among the vulnerable groups especially, children, women and elderly. The central role women play as producers of food, managers of natural resources, income earners and caretakers of household food security and nutrition has become increasingly recognized. Empirical evidence shows that women in developing countries play a crucial role in ensuring household food security (National Nutrition and Health Survey (NNHS), 2018). The Nigerian government also concur that women are vital to food security and family wellbeing. Similarly, the importance of women as agricultural workers and income earners have become increasingly recognized hence strategies have been directed towards eliminating the inequities and constraints affecting women’s productive role. Giving women the same access to physical and natural resources as men could enhance agricultural productivity (NNHS, 2018). Based on the foregoing, it becomes imperative that this study on the household food security and anthropometric status of women be carried out.

1.1 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The economic development of a nation is known to be dependent on its factor endowment and this includes both the non-human and human resources. The productive capacity of the human resources is however a function of how well fed they are. Food problem, with regards to quality and quantity, is one of the characteristics of developing countries like Nigeria (Omonona and Agoi, 2017). Hunger and malnutrition adversely affect the livelihood and well-being of a massive number of people and inhibiting the development of many poor countries (Gebremedhin, 2020).

Although the prevalence of maternal undernutrition has been on the decline in recent times, nonetheless, high prevalence is still noticeable in sub-Saharan Africa. Maternal undernutrition ranges between 10 and 40% in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa (Ferede et al., 2018). The findings from the 2018 Nigeria National Nutrition and Health Survey (NNHS) indicated that 6.9% of Nigerian women age 15–49 years were acutely malnourished and 3.8% were severely malnourished (NNHS, 2018). A report by the United States Agency International Development (USAID) revealed that Women’s nutrition is also of concern in Nigeria, facing the double burden of malnutrition: prevalence of overweight/obesity is 25%, with a prevalence of undernutrition at 13.7%.The causes of undernutrition are well known and multifaceted. According to Word bank report, between 2014 and 2019, on the average 9.1% of Nigerian population are suffering from severe food insecurity (NNHS, 2018). In Abia state however studies have shown a high level of food insecurity ranging from 61.11% and 63.3% according to studies from Agwu et al. (2018) and Okpokiri et al. (2018) respectively. Based on the above stated premise, this study is set to assess the household food security and anthropometric status of women in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State.

1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The general objective of this study is to assess the household food security and anthropometric status of women in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State.

The specific objectives include to:

i.        Assess personal data and socio-economic status of the women.

ii.      Determine the food security status of the women.

iii.     Ascertain the anthropometric status of the women.

iv.     Evaluate the association between their food security and anthropometric status.

1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Results and findings from this research will not only contribute to existing academic literature but can be used by Nigeria government, researchers, policy makers, and other relevant stakeholders to develop and implement strategies that can uplift the lives of women in Obingwa. This study will be of interest and useful to international organization, health and medical practitioners by generating information on food insecurity, nutrition and how it has affected women.

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