Food-related behaviors of rural (Asaase Kooko) and peri-urban (Kaadjanor) households in Ghana
Background“Food-related behaviors” range widely and include food acquisition, storage, cooking, meal sharing, eating practices, among others. Food-related behaviors can influence nutritional status and health outcomes, and likely vary between rural and peri-urban households; however, there is limite...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Nutrition |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1523793/full |
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| author | Prince Kwabena Osei Megan A. McCrory Matilda Steiner-Asiedu Edward Sazonov Mingui Sun Wenyan Jia Tom Baranowski Gary Frost Benny Lo Alex Kojo Anderson |
| author_facet | Prince Kwabena Osei Megan A. McCrory Matilda Steiner-Asiedu Edward Sazonov Mingui Sun Wenyan Jia Tom Baranowski Gary Frost Benny Lo Alex Kojo Anderson |
| author_sort | Prince Kwabena Osei |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background“Food-related behaviors” range widely and include food acquisition, storage, cooking, meal sharing, eating practices, among others. Food-related behaviors can influence nutritional status and health outcomes, and likely vary between rural and peri-urban households; however, there is limited documentation on such differences.ObjectiveTo assess food-related behaviors of rural and peri-urban households in Ghana to inform the design and implementation of a field study to validate passive wearable camera technologies for dietary assessment.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional qualitative study in rural (Asaase Kokoo) and peri-urban (Kaadjanor) communities, Ghana. Forty key informants (20 rural and 20 peri-urban) were interviewed about their household food-related behaviors. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim by professional transcribers, and manually coded using the directed content analysis approach.ResultsAll but three key informants were mothers, who were also the main food preparers for their households. The mean (SD) ages of female key informants were 35.5 (19.8) years in rural households and 38.9 (19.2) years in peri-urban households. The ages of two male key informants in rural households were 45 and 60 years, and the age of the only male key informant in a peri-urban household was 53 years. The most prevalent occupation in rural households was farming, while in per-urban households, blue-collar jobs (e.g., beauticians, sales personnel, and commercial drivers) were the main occupations. Farming was the main source of food in rural households, whereas buying food from local markets and grocery stores was the main source of food in peri-urban households. Some in rural and peri-urban households reported that husbands received preferential treatment by being served first with larger meal portions after food preparation in the home. Few key informants in rural households reported that meal-sharing patterns were based on ages of household members, with adults usually served more food than children.ConclusionThe meal-sharing patterns and eating practices reported in some rural and peri-urban households could potentially impact the nutrition and health of children. Our findings suggest the need for nutrition education for mothers to provide adequate and nutrient-rich foods to support optimal child growth and development. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e74ad80f75a3404b989b41c5f7c39e6a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2296-861X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Nutrition |
| spelling | doaj-art-e74ad80f75a3404b989b41c5f7c39e6a2025-02-06T05:21:48ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Nutrition2296-861X2025-02-011210.3389/fnut.2025.15237931523793Food-related behaviors of rural (Asaase Kooko) and peri-urban (Kaadjanor) households in GhanaPrince Kwabena Osei0Megan A. McCrory1Matilda Steiner-Asiedu2Edward Sazonov3Mingui Sun4Wenyan Jia5Tom Baranowski6Gary Frost7Benny Lo8Alex Kojo Anderson9Department of Nutritional Sciences, College of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United StatesDepartment of Health Sciences, Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, United StatesDepartment of Nutrition and Food Science, College of Basic and Applied Science, University of Ghana, Accra, GhanaDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, United StatesDepartment of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United StatesDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United StatesUSDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United StatesSection for Nutrition Research, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Imperial College London, London, United KingdomHamlyn Centre, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, United KingdomDepartment of Nutritional Sciences, College of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United StatesBackground“Food-related behaviors” range widely and include food acquisition, storage, cooking, meal sharing, eating practices, among others. Food-related behaviors can influence nutritional status and health outcomes, and likely vary between rural and peri-urban households; however, there is limited documentation on such differences.ObjectiveTo assess food-related behaviors of rural and peri-urban households in Ghana to inform the design and implementation of a field study to validate passive wearable camera technologies for dietary assessment.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional qualitative study in rural (Asaase Kokoo) and peri-urban (Kaadjanor) communities, Ghana. Forty key informants (20 rural and 20 peri-urban) were interviewed about their household food-related behaviors. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim by professional transcribers, and manually coded using the directed content analysis approach.ResultsAll but three key informants were mothers, who were also the main food preparers for their households. The mean (SD) ages of female key informants were 35.5 (19.8) years in rural households and 38.9 (19.2) years in peri-urban households. The ages of two male key informants in rural households were 45 and 60 years, and the age of the only male key informant in a peri-urban household was 53 years. The most prevalent occupation in rural households was farming, while in per-urban households, blue-collar jobs (e.g., beauticians, sales personnel, and commercial drivers) were the main occupations. Farming was the main source of food in rural households, whereas buying food from local markets and grocery stores was the main source of food in peri-urban households. Some in rural and peri-urban households reported that husbands received preferential treatment by being served first with larger meal portions after food preparation in the home. Few key informants in rural households reported that meal-sharing patterns were based on ages of household members, with adults usually served more food than children.ConclusionThe meal-sharing patterns and eating practices reported in some rural and peri-urban households could potentially impact the nutrition and health of children. Our findings suggest the need for nutrition education for mothers to provide adequate and nutrient-rich foods to support optimal child growth and development.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1523793/fullfood-related behaviorsfood acquisitionfood preparationeating practicesfood storageGhana |
| spellingShingle | Prince Kwabena Osei Megan A. McCrory Matilda Steiner-Asiedu Edward Sazonov Mingui Sun Wenyan Jia Tom Baranowski Gary Frost Benny Lo Alex Kojo Anderson Food-related behaviors of rural (Asaase Kooko) and peri-urban (Kaadjanor) households in Ghana Frontiers in Nutrition food-related behaviors food acquisition food preparation eating practices food storage Ghana |
| title | Food-related behaviors of rural (Asaase Kooko) and peri-urban (Kaadjanor) households in Ghana |
| title_full | Food-related behaviors of rural (Asaase Kooko) and peri-urban (Kaadjanor) households in Ghana |
| title_fullStr | Food-related behaviors of rural (Asaase Kooko) and peri-urban (Kaadjanor) households in Ghana |
| title_full_unstemmed | Food-related behaviors of rural (Asaase Kooko) and peri-urban (Kaadjanor) households in Ghana |
| title_short | Food-related behaviors of rural (Asaase Kooko) and peri-urban (Kaadjanor) households in Ghana |
| title_sort | food related behaviors of rural asaase kooko and peri urban kaadjanor households in ghana |
| topic | food-related behaviors food acquisition food preparation eating practices food storage Ghana |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1523793/full |
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