Abstract:
A household cross-sectional survey of a sample of 120 households to
analyze consumption practices and determinants of household dietary diversity in
rural areas of differing agro-climatic conditions in Tanzania was conducted in four
villages of Morogoro and Dodoma regions. The respondent was the mother/woman
or any other person responsible for food preparation and serving in the household.
The inclusion criteria were those women who had given consent to participate,
those from a rural area and in the age bracket 15 to 49 years. Data were collected
using the Food and Agriculture Organization dietary diversity questionnaire with
twelve food groups. Two independent multinomial logistic regression models were
used to establish relationships between dietary diversity and categorical variables
in Morogoro and Dodoma regions. The mean dietary diversity scores were 4.7 and
4.1 for Morogoro and Dodoma, respectively. The Cereals were highly consumed by
all households that participated in the study during the past 24 h preceding the
survey and that the consumption of animal based protein foods was below 40%.
Determinants of household dietary diversity in Morogoro included literacy status of
the mother and prior nutrition training/knowledge. In Dodoma, cultivated land size,
literacy status of the mother and distance to a water source determined household dietary diversity. It is therefore recommended that nutrition and food security
interventions should not only empower rural women but also pay special attention
to differences in agro-ecological environments of the areas in determining interventions
to address malnutrition and for effective successful implementation and
outcomes.
