Exposure to trans fatty acids foods of rural and urban populations in selected wards of Morogoro region
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Date
2021
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
Trans-fatty acids are unsaturated fats, their consumption poses adverse health risks. The
current study was conducted to determine the levels of trans fatty acids (TFAs) in
commonly consumed processed foods;“Chapati”, wheat buns, rice buns, potato chips and
partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) in retail markets (street food vendors and restaurants)
in Morogoro region. A total of 60 samples were collected from two districts and analysed
for total TFAs by Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Data were analysed
by IBM SPSS Software for ANOVA version 20.0 and Means were separated by Tukey‘s
honest at P≤ 0.05. Results indicated that, with the exception of “Chapati”,all samples
contained TFAs levels that were above the maximum recommended level by WHO (less
than or equal to 2g/100g of fat per day). The highest amount of TFAs was observed in
PHOs (5.69±0.042g/100g fat). The mean TFAs concentration differed significantly among
food types at P≤ 0.05. There was no significant effect of locations on mean TFAs
concentration. The study indicated that the observed high amount of TFAs in PHOs, the
most used ingredient in food preparations could pose a nutritional health hazard to most
consumers. Other snacks and fast food in this study, when consumed on regular basis
could potentially add up more TFAs in our bodies thereby increasing the risks for non-
communicable diseases (NCDs) especially cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) which have
become more prominent in Tanzania. In addition, a cross-sectional study conducted to
determine the consumption pattern of foods containing TFAs. A total of 340 households
were involved, whereby 176 were from Morogoro urban district (MjiMkuu ward and
Mazimbu ward) and 164 from Morogoro rural district (Kiroka ward). Food frequency
questionnaires (FFQ) were used to collect data. Results showed that, close to 70% of
urban households in the study wards consumed processed foodstuffs and 66% of the rural
households consumed more of minimally/non-processed foodstuffs. Most of processediii
foods/snacks were found to have been prepared by frying with PHOs. Further results
showed that there was a high consumption of cooking oil brand “Korie” (PHOs) by 87%
and 70% in rural and urban areas, respectively. In a separate study, an assessment was
conducted to determine the level of awareness among consumers and food/oil processors
on TFAs. Study sample included the previous 340 households, but also 32 food/oil
processors (22 = small scale; 10 = large scale). Structured questionnaires were used to
collect the data. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the level of awareness on
TFAs. About 98% of all consumers had neither knowledge nor awareness about TFAs and
their associated health effects. Nevertheless, awareness level was observed to improve
with location and level of education. The level of awareness of TFAs at MjiMkuu ward
(urban) was significantly different from Kiroka ward (rural) (OR: =18.111; P= 0.020).
However, no significant difference was observed in the level of awareness between
consumers in Kiroka (rural) and in Mazimbu ward (urban) (OR: = 5.397; p=0.126). Large
scale food and oil processors were more aware about TFAs than small scale. General
awareness on TFAs and the associated adverse health effects among consumers were very
low compared to that of processors and were also influenced by location and level of
education.
Description
Dissertation
Keywords
Morogoro region, Fatty acids foods, Populations, Rural-urban area