| dc.description.abstract | This study compared vitamin A status, nutritional status and food diversity of
children aged between 24 and 72 months, of households possessing home gardens
and those without home gardens, in Nambale Division of Busia District, Western
Province, Kenya.
The study was meant to document the extent to which home gardening contributes
to vitamin A status, nutritional status and households' diet diversification. This
was a cross-sectional, descriptive, analytical and comparative study.
A total of 376 households comprised the study sample, of which 138 were all
households that had home gardens in the study area and 238 households without
home gardens. These households were selected from three out of five locations of
Nambale division using purposive, stratified and systematic sampling. A subsample
of 82 households, 35 with home gardens and 48 without were selected for
24-hour dietary recall. Biochemical serum retinol tests, stool test for gastrointestinal
parasites and clinical observations were done on 29 children of
gardeners and 48 of non-gardeners.
A structured questionnaire covenng aspects of socio-demographic, SOClOeconomic,
crop production, home gardening activities, food consumption, dietary
intake, vitamin A supplementation and morbidity was administered to
respondents. Biochemical test for serum retinol levels was done using high
performance liquid chromatography method, while presence of gastrointestinal
parasites was investigated using concentration method at research-oriented
laboratories of the Kenya Medical Research Institute.Dietary data for assessing
food consumption and dietary diversity was collected using the Helen Keller
International food frequency questionnaire method, while the twenty-four hours
recall was used to collect data on dietary adequacy.
The two study groups showed no significant difference in socio-demographic and
socio-economic characteristics investigated in this study.
Vitamin A status of children from households with home gardens was lowadequate
with a serum retinol mean of l.03J.lmol/L and 9.1% vitamin A deficient
cases while their counter parts had a serum retinol mean of 1.l Sumol/L and 8.3
vitamin A deficient cases, however the difference was not significant.
Both study groups depicted a vitamin A public health problem some they
consumed Vitamin A rich foods below the recommended adequate level of mean
frequency score of 6, Children of home gardeners had a score of 5.98(SD 4.08)
while that of non-home gardeners was 5.29 (SD 3.79) by the Helen Keller food
frequency questionnaire method. In comparison to those of gardening households,
children of non-gardeners had consumed significantly higher animal sources of
vitamin A rich foods that could have maintained higher serum retinal levels in
this group. The most commonly consumed vitamin A rich food in both study
groups were dark green leafy vegetables, though the consumption was
insignificantly higher in the gardening group. .
Diets of both study groups provided adequate protein intake but were deficient in
both calories and vitamin A. Caloric intake was significantly higher for the home
gardening group and was associated with stunting within the group implying that
gardening contributed to reduced stunting(both rate and severity) in study group.
The children of gardeners consumed a slightly more diversified diet with an
average dietary diversity score of 3.69 compared to a score of 3.35 among their
counterparts. The difference was not significant leading to accepting of the
hypothesis that 'there was no difference in the dietary diversity of households
practicing and those not practicing home gardening'.
Very few mothers, 35.5 % gardeners and 32.4% non-gardeners, knew the
importance of vitamin A to their children while only 22 mothers from both study
groups considered a vitamin food as part of an ideal meal for their child.
A higher percentage (34%) of the children of households without home gardens
were infested by gastrointestinal parasites compared to 25% infestation among
their counterparts.
A significantly higher morbidity (53.9%) was found among children of home
gardeners as compared to 43.6%. among their counterparts.
There was no significant difference in nutritional status of children from the two
groups although stunting was insignificantly higher (36.4%), among the non home
gardeners compared to 27.8% among gardeners. The prevalence of both
wasting and underweight were higher among the children of gardeners (4% and
15.1%), compared to 2.6% and 13% among the non-gardeners respectively. This
led to acceptance of the hypothesis that 'there is no significant difference in
vitamin A and Nutrition status of household that practice or don't practice home
gardening' .
The presence of a home garden had not improved vitamin A status of study
children significantly although the children of gardening households had higher
caloric intake, more diversified diet and were less stunted compared to their
counterparts. Off-farm income and consumption of vitamin A rich animal
products had contributed to sustainable and improved vitamin A status among
children of households without home gardens.Low nutritional knowledge among
mothers of study children contributed to ommion of vitamin A food in the
children's' meals. Gardening efforts should include nutrition education and
activities that increase households' income to enable adequate consumption of
animal sources to vitamin A that have significant effect in improving vitamin A
status | en |
