ABSTRACT Diabetes Mellitus is a condition with common elements of hyperglycaemia and glucose intolerance. It is the fourth leading cause of death in high-income countries and evidently epidemic in newly industrialized countries as well as economically developing nations such as Kenya. Type 2 Diabetes is characterized by insulin resistance and relative insulin deficiency. Studies have reported low serum chromium levels in Type 2 diabetics compared to non-diabetic population. Chromium has been...
ABSTRACT Food insecurity remains a major problem in poor households, and its implications worsen in disease states including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and AIDS. More than 10 million Kenyans are chronically food insecure and 1.6 million have HIV. A synergistic relationship exists between food insecurity, HIV, and AIDS. Human Immunodeficiency Virus and AIDS cause an imbalance of the four fundamental elements of food security: food access, availability, utilization, and stability. Ther...
Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is recommended up to 6 months of age, with continued breastfeeding along with appropriate complementary foods up to two years of age or beyond. Failure to exclusively breastfeed for six months is associated with increased risk of childhood mortality and morbidity. There is paucity of information that analyses the disparity in Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) among primiparous and multiparous mothers. This study aimed to compare the KAP of EBF betwee...
ABSTRACT Malnutrition is one of the main factors that contribute significantly to health status mortality and general wellbeing of elderly people. The elderly have a greater risk of malnutrition due to high morbidity rate, lack of care and support, loss of muscle mass that normally come with ageing and physiological changes that derail intake of food, digestion, nutrients absorption and metabolism. Physical disabilities also interfere with their ability to look for and prepare food. For any ...
ABSTRACT Orthopaedic injuries are common globally with the highest prevalence reported in the sub-Saharan region. In hospitals, malnutrition is a significant problem in both developed and developing countries, its prevalence ranging from 20 – 60%. Malnutrition is reported to be common among orthopaedic patients due to disease, inadequate nutrient intake and low diet satisfaction associated with quality of hospital food. Untreated malnutrition is detrimental to individuals, societies and ec...
ABSTRACT HIV/AIDS has orphaned millions of children worldwide and left many more with ill parents. Sub Saharan Africa is the worst hit. Kenya has an estimated one million orphaned and vulnerable children due to HIV/AIDS. Apart from illness and death of parents, children may be more vulnerable to poverty, face increased risk of malnutrition and miss out on education. The objective of this study was to assess food consumption patterns, nutrient intakes, nutritional status and school attendance...
Abstract There are increased reported cases of rickets in Kenya coupled with scanty data on its cause. This study was carried out to determine risk factors associated with rickets for pediatric infants and children attending Maternal and Child Health clinic at Kiambu district hospital. A cross sectional analytical survey design was used. Systematic random sampling was used to select 377 infants and children in addition to their mothers and care givers for data collection. Simple random sampl...
ABSTRACT The global prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased from 6.4% in 1980, 12% in 2008 to 39% in 2014. These statistics show rising prevalence of overweight among women of reproductive age in many regions including Sub-Sahara Africa. Studies indicate sub-optimal dietary intake, body dissatisfaction, less physical activity levels and increase of body weight at postpartum period as the main contributors. It is also emerging from research done mainly in western countries that Afr...
ABSTRACT Scientific evidence on infant and young child feeding practices from developing countries show that progress is possible when effective strategies and sufficient resources are applied. However, significant gaps in complementary feeding continue to undermine child health. There is limited scientific data on complementary feeding practices and its relation to nutritional status of children aged 6-23 months old in Kenya’s urban slums. The study therefore investigated complementary fe...
ABSTRACT Overweight and obesity is an escalating problem worldwide, yet extensive data especially in Africa is still lacking. The main objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity and associated socio-economic factors, physical activity, and dietary intake among women in Nairobi, Kenya. A crosssectional design was used. Data on socio-economic factors of the women, their physical activity and dietary intake patterns, as well as anthropometric measuremen...
ABSTRACT Kenya has one of the highest mortality rates among children under five. Inadequate dietary intake and low socio-economic status may contribute to the prevalence of malnutrition. The main objective of the study was to determine the dietary intake, hygienic practices, morbidity and nutritional status of children under five years in Mukuru slums.The study is important for planning and development of nutritional and good sanitation policies. Descriptive research design was used for ...
ABSTRACT The effect of addition of processed soybean flour on the physicochemical characteristics of fermented maize dough was studied. Soybean flours; Full-fat, Extruded, and Defatted soy-flours were processed and added to maize dough before and after fermentation of the dough. The soy were added to the dough at 0,10,and 20 percent concentrations. The dough samples were also fermented at 0,6,24 and 4 8 hours respectively. Two traditional food products; Ga kenkey and Akasa (Porridge) were al...
ABSTRACT The quality of palm oil depends on the method of extraction. Mechanized methods of extracting palm oil result in better oil quality. In Ghana over 80% of palm oil is produced by small scale processors whose lack of mechanization results in poor oil quality. A study conducted in 2011 resulted in the development of an improved traditional process (ITP) to augment the quality of palm oil from the small scale. This study sought to compare palm oils from different processing scales to IT...
ABSTRACT Pectin is defined as complex mixtures of polysaccharides that make up approximately one third of the cell-wall dry substance of most types plants. This study was carried out to extract pectin from fully ripen pumpkin (Cucurbita spp.) using two different methods; soxhlet acid extraction method and acid extraction method. And to study the influence of using different acids on the yield of pectin; nitric and citric acids were used. Moreover, to examine the effect of time in pectin ...
ABSTRACT This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) seeds oil (BCSO) on crude and refined peanut oil stability during frying periods. Crude and refined peanut oil was blended with 5%, 10% and 15% BCSO and commercial antioxidant (CA). The blends were used to fry potato chips for up to 60 min. Black cumin seeds collected from the local market, were analyzed for protein, moisture, fats, fibers and carbohydrates contents then physical properties (colour, r...