Bekele TH, van Rooijen M, Gerdessen JC, Brouwer ID, Feskens EJM, Trijsburg L, Alemayehu D, de Vries JHM. Developing feasible healthy diets for Ethiopian women of reproductive age: a linear goal programming approach.
Public Health Nutr 2023;
26:2096-2107. [PMID:
37448219 PMCID:
PMC10564607 DOI:
10.1017/s1368980023001374]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To develop a healthy diet for Ethiopian women closely resembling their current diet and taking fasting periods into account while tracking the cost difference.
DESIGN
Linear goal programming models were built for three scenarios (non-fasting, continuous fasting and intermittent fasting). Each model minimised a function of deviations from nutrient reference values for eleven nutrients (protein, Ca, Fe, Zn, folate, and the vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, and B12). The energy intake in optimised diets could only deviate 5 % from the current diet.
SETTINGS
Five regions are included in the urban and rural areas of Ethiopia.
PARTICIPANTS
Two non-consecutive 24-h dietary recalls (24HDR) were collected from 494 Ethiopian women of reproductive age from November to December 2019.
RESULTS
Women's mean energy intake was well above 2000 kcal across all socio-demographic subgroups. Compared to the current diet, the estimated intake of several food groups was considerably higher in the optimised modelled diets, that is, milk and dairy foods (396 v. 30 g/d), nuts and seeds (20 v. 1 g/d) and fruits (200 v. 7 g/d). Except for Ca and vitamin B12 intake in the continuous fasting diet, the proposed diets provide an adequate intake of the targeted micronutrients. The proposed diets had a maximum cost of 120 Ethiopian birrs ($3·5) per d, twice the current diet's cost.
CONCLUSION
The modelled diets may be feasible for women of reproductive age as they are close to their current diets and fulfil their energy and nutrient demands. However, the costs may be a barrier to implementation.
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