Socio-cultural factors influencing attitudes and perceptions on food and nutrition in Morogoro municipality

The present study was undertaken to understand socio-cultural factors influencing attitudes and perceptions on food and nutrition of adult men and women residing in Morogoro Municipality. Specifically, the study aimed at determining the socio-cultural factors influencing attitudes and perceptions on food and nutrition; to assess the influence of socio-cultural factors on dietary pattern in the study area; to evaluate household decision making on food accessibility; and to assess the nutritional status of adult household members. Face to face interview and focus group discussion were used to explore the factors. Also, anthropometric dimensions of the respondents were measured, and households were visited for direct observation. A total of 534 respondents were interviewed and the nutrition status of 500 respondents was assessed. The main finding of the study indicates that most of the people in the study area (88%) attained primary school education. The majority of respondents (96%) were involved in agriculture activities. A high proportion (66%) of the respondents lack knowledge on food and nutrition. The nutrition status of the respondents explains the prevalence of under nutrition. About 69% of assessed male and 31% of female respondents are underweight using the standard BMI cut off of 18. Moreover, socio-cultural factors influenced the subjects’ attitudes and perception on food and nutrition. The study concluded that there is an inverse relationship between socio-cultural influences and eating behaviour of the people in Morogoro Municipality. Through interaction, people adopt different culture but they do not completely lose their culture, still adhere to their old traits therefore interventions need to be geared towards different groups of the population focusing more on factors influencing their attitudes and perception on food and mark the basis for planning culturally sensitive interventions to promote healthy eating.

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