Dietary Patterns as Characterized by Food Processing Levels and Their Association with the Health Outcomes of Rural Women in East Africa

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 13; no. 8; p. 2866
• Main Authors: Sarfo, Jacob, Pawelzik, Elke, Keding, Gudrun B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.08.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Africa; Africa, Eastern - epidemiology; Body Mass Index; Body weight; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diet - adverse effects; Diet Surveys; Diet, Healthy; dietary patterns; Eating; Epidemics; Feeding Behavior; Female; Food; Food consumption; Food habits; Food Handling; Food intake; Food processing; Fruits; Health aspects; Households; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Middle Aged; Nutritive Value; Obesity; Obesity - diagnosis; Obesity - epidemiology; Obesity - psychology; overweight and obesity; Processed foods; Regression analysis; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Rural areas; Rural Health; Sex Factors; Tanzania; Type 2 diabetes; Uganda; Urban areas; Urban environments; Women; Women's Health; Womens health; Young Adult; Africa, Eastern; Uganda; Tanzania; Kenya; East Africa; rural areas; processed foods; Africa; dietary patterns; overweight and obesity; women
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu13082866

Overweight and obesity are rapidly rising in Sub-Saharan Africa including in rural areas. However, most studies focus on urban centers, and have attributed this epidemic to the consumption of processed foods without their clear characterization. This study investigated food intake patterns defined by food processing levels and their association with overweight/obesity in rural areas. Four 24-h dietary recalls, anthropometric measurements, and socio-demographic characteristics were collected from 1152 women in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The PCA method was used to extract patterns characterized by food processing levels. The association between patterns and overweight/obesity was ascertained with regression models. The overweight/obesity rate was 47%, 42%, 26%, and 38% in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and East Africa (as pooled data), respectively. Several patterns were identified, yet a "plant-based pattern" largely characterized by unprocessed and minimally processed foods and a "purchase pattern" mainly distinguished by highly processed foods were dominant. The "plant-based pattern" was inversely or not associated with overweight/obesity, while the "purchase pattern" had a positive association or no association. A clear distinction on processed foods as healthy and unhealthy should be made based on their nutrient provision to avoid their mischaracterization as unhealthy. Policies to reverse consumption of unhealthy processed foods while promoting healthy ones should be pursued.