An Assessment of Dietary Diversity in Six Nigerian States

Diet quality (DQ) has been receiving increased attention because of its relationship to diet-related chronic non-communicable diseases. A diverse range of foods has been shown to increase energy and micronutrients intake in the developing countries. Diversity or variety in Nigerian diets is not known. A cross-sectional descriptive study design was adopted and a semi-structured questionnaire with in-built 24-hour diet recall section was the tool for data collection. A 14-food group model was used to evaluate diet diversity (DD). DD was based on the number of food groups consumed in the previous 24hours period. A DD score (DDS) ranging from 0 to 14 was constructed. A DDS terciles for low, medium and high was also constructed. DD of Nigerian diet was evaluated in six states representing the three Agro- ecological zones, rural and urban sectors of Nigeria. 1,472 women with a mean age (SD) of 27.9(6.2) years participated in this study. Majority (97.1%) were married, occupation included traders (21.5%), civil servants (23.9%), artisans (19.1%) and farmers (15.4%). Overall, mean dietary diversity score (DDS) was 5.81 (1.4). This varied from 6.61 in Akwa-Ibom state to 4.98 in Kaduna state .Overall 83% of the participants had average/medium DDS (5-9) while 16.5% had low (1-4) DDS. These varied significantly among the states. Low DDS (1-4) was 25% and 33% in the states in the dry Savanna zone but 12.8% and 10% in the states in moist Savanna zone and 6.4 and 6.2 in humid forest. These differences are significant (p 0.05). In conclusion dietary diversity is poor in Nigeria and efforts to improve nutritional status must address the issue of dietary diversity.