ABSTRACT

This study assessed the effect of Monday lockdown on the nutritional status and dietary pattern of households living in Aba in Abia State. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a total of 281 households. Data on socio demographic/economic characteristics, dietary pattern during lock down and food consumption pattern of the households were collected using structured and validated questionnaire. The IBM SPSS version 22.0 computer programme was used to analyze the data. Data obtained were described using frequency and percentage. Chi square was used to analyze the association between income generation and dietary pattern of households during Monday lockdown. Significant association was judged at p ≤ 0.05. Result revealed that more than half (54.0%) of the respondents were females above 4o years of age (38.5%). A little below half (49.0%) of them were not unemployed and 43.5% completed tertiary education and were traders (49.5%). More than half (53.0%) of the respondents earn above N 50,000 in a month and most (78.5%) of them skip their meals. Majority (95.5%) of them add vegetables to their meals and the vegetables mostly added were ugu (38.5%), cabbage (21.0%), cucumber (21.0%) and carrots (15.0%). Among the food groups consumed on the normal period, cereals (40.5%), fruits (72.5%), meat and poultry (72.5%), pulses (62.0%), milk and milk products (80.0%) and fats/oil (74.5%) were mostly consumed more than 10 times a month with minimal consumption of roots/tubers (22.%), vegetables (31.0%) and sugar (10.0%). The consumption during lockdown revealed that pulses (35.0%), fats/oil (68.5%) and sugars (41.0%) were often consumed by while there was minimal consumption of other food groups like cereals (20.5%), roots/tubers (23.5%), fruits (22.5%), meats (26.5%), eggs (12.5%), fish/sea foods (26.5%), milk and milk products (27.5%). There was a significant association between employment status, occupation, monthly income and meal skipping habits of the respondents (p<0.05). There was also a significant association between cereal consumption, vegetable consumption, pulses and legume consumption, fats and oil consumption, sugar consumption and monthly income of the respondents (p<0.05). There is need for public health officials and nutritionists to focus on the development of programmes to increase nutrition awareness for healthy food Choices and consumption during lockdown.