Contribution of sweetpotatoes to nutrient adequacy in diets of children 6-59 months in Trans-Mara east sub-county, Narok county, Kenya

Abstract

Sweetpotato versatility, drought tolerance, resistance to diseases and its great contribution to food security makes it an important staple food in the developing countries. Poor soil productivity, insufficient soil moisture, diseases, pests and erratic rainfall among other factors accelerates food insecurity in ASAL areas. There is, however, limited information on sweetpotato utilization and contribution to nutrient adequacy in the diets of children in developing countries. This study aimed at determining the contribution of sweetpotatoes to nutrient adequacy in the diets of children aged 6-59 months in Trans-Mara East Sub- County. A cross-sectional study was carried out in January and February 2018 to determine the consumption of sweetpotatoes and their contribution to nutrient adequacy in the diets of 211 children aged between 6-59 months. The study consisted of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. The data obtained was analysed using SPSS version 20, Nutrisurvey 2007 and ENA for SMART 2011 software. Majority of the respondents (92.9%) were female while the rest were male (7.1%). There was a significant association (χ2=71, df=30, p<0.05) between household head‟s main occupation and the education level. Slightly over a quarter of the children (30.3%) had low dietary diversity score which is less than four food groups. The most consumed food group was cereal based products (80.1%) while the least was fish (4.3 %). The diets of the children under study did not meet the RDAs for carbohydrates, vitamin A, calcium and iron. White-fleshed sweetpotato was the most consumed variety. Most households (88.6%) boiled the sweetpotato while 11.4% fried. Lack of sweetpotato consumption led to significant (p<0.05) reduction in the iron intake with R2 of 0.26 and beta of -5.4. The consumption of sweetpotatoes did not result in any significant difference (p>0.05) in the intake of calcium, vitamin A, zinc, carbohydrates, fibre and protein. The overall prevalence of wasting, underweight and stunting was 3.8%, 9.6% and 28.9%, respectively. Sweetpotatoes are produced by majority of the households in Trans-Mara East. They are introduced to diets of children mainly in form of boiled roots. Despite the fact that various sweetpotato varieties are grown in the area, their utilization and contribution to nutrient adequacy in diets of children is low. Because of the great potential of sweetpotatoes growth in this region, there is need for increased promotion efforts to increase the frequency of sweetpotato utilization with emphasis on highly nutritious orange fleshed varieties. This can be done by educating caregivers on the nutritional importance of consumption of sweetpotato and formulation of delicious recipes.