IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v15y2018i8p1767-d164162.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Ethiopian Orthodox Fasting and Lactating Mothers: Longitudinal Study on Dietary Pattern and Nutritional Status in Rural Tigray, Ethiopia

Author

Listed:
  • Beruk Berhanu Desalegn

    (College of Agriculture, Hawassa University, Postal code: 05, Hawassa, Ethiopia
    Institute of Biological Chemistry and Nutrition, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstr. 30, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany)

  • Christine Lambert

    (Institute of Biological Chemistry and Nutrition, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstr. 30, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany)

  • Simon Riedel

    (Institute of Biological Chemistry and Nutrition, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstr. 30, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany)

  • Tegene Negese

    (College of Agriculture, Hawassa University, Postal code: 05, Hawassa, Ethiopia)

  • Hans Konrad Biesalski

    (Institute of Biological Chemistry and Nutrition, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstr. 30, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany)

Abstract

About half of Ethiopians belong to the Orthodox Tewahedo religion. Annually, more than 200 days are dedicated to religious fasting, which includes abstaining from all types of food, animal source foods, and water. However, the association of fasting with undernutrition remains unknown in Ethiopia. Therefore, dietary pattern and nutritional status of lactating women during lent fasting and non-fasting periods were studied, and predictor variables for maternal underweight were identified. To achieve this, lactating mothers in lent fasting ( N = 572) and non-fasting ( N = 522) periods participated from rural Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Average minimum diet diversity (MDD-W) was computed from two 24-h recalls, and nutritional status was assessed using body mass index (BMI). Binary logistic regression was used to identify potential predictors of maternal underweight. Wilcoxon signed-rank (WSRT) and McNemar’s tests were used for comparison of the two periods. The prevalence of underweight in fasting mothers was 50.6%. In the multivariate logistic regression model, younger age, sickness in the last four weeks preceding the survey, fasting during pregnancy, lactation periods, grandfathers’ as household decision makers, previous aid experience, non-improved water source, and not owning chicken were positively associated with maternal underweight. In WSRT, there was no significant ( p > 0.05) difference on maternal body weight and BMI between periods. The average number of meals, diet diversity, and animal source foods (ASFs), consumption scores were significantly increased in non-fasting compared to fasting periods in both fasting and non-fasting mothers ( p < 0.001, p < 0.05, and p < 0.001, respectively). Consumption of dark green leafy vegetables was higher in the fasting period (11%) than non-fasting (3.6%), in the study population. As a conclusion, Ethiopian Orthodox fasting negatively affected maternal nutritional status and dietary pattern in rural Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. To reduce maternal malnutrition in Ethiopia, existing multi-sectoral nutrition intervention strategies, should include religious institutions in a sustainable manner.

Suggested Citation

  • Beruk Berhanu Desalegn & Christine Lambert & Simon Riedel & Tegene Negese & Hans Konrad Biesalski, 2018. "Ethiopian Orthodox Fasting and Lactating Mothers: Longitudinal Study on Dietary Pattern and Nutritional Status in Rural Tigray, Ethiopia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-20, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:8:p:1767-:d:164162
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/8/1767/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/8/1767/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xiaoyu Wu & Lixing Li, 2012. "Family size and maternal health: evidence from the One-Child policy in China," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 25(4), pages 1341-1364, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Haoming Liu, 2014. "The quality–quantity trade-off: evidence from the relaxation of China’s one-child policy," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(2), pages 565-602, April.
    2. Peter Eibich & Xianhua Zai, 2022. "Are the grandparents alright? The health consequences of grandparental childcare provision," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2022-023, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    3. Emla Fitzsimons & Bansi Malde, 2014. "Empirically probing the quantity–quality model," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(1), pages 33-68, January.
    4. Yi Chen & Hanming Fang, 2018. "The Long-Term Consequences of Having Fewer Children in Old Age: Evidence from China’s “Later, Longer, Fewer” Campaign," NBER Working Papers 25041, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Yi Chen & Yingfei Huang, 2020. "The power of the government: China's Family Planning Leading Group and the fertility decline of the 1970s," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 42(35), pages 985-1038.
    6. Yongkun Yin, 2022. "Intergenerational Transmission of Fertility: Evidence from China’s Population Control Policies," Working Papers wp2022_2211, CEMFI.
    7. Steven Lugauer & Jinlan Ni & Zhichao Yin, 2014. "Micro-Data Evidence on Family Size and Chinese Saving Rates," Working Papers 023, University of Notre Dame, Department of Economics, revised Jun 2014.
    8. Hanzhi Hu, 2023. "The Consequences of Fertility Decline on Educational Attainment in China," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(6), pages 1-30, December.
    9. Chen, Yi & Fang, Hanming, 2021. "The long-term consequences of China's “Later, Longer, Fewer” campaign in old age," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    10. XIE Mingjia & YIN Ting & ZHANG Yi & OSHIO Takashi, 2022. "The Hidden Cost of Having More Children: The Impact of Fertility on the Elderly's Healthcare Utilization," Discussion papers 22033, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    11. Sibo Zhao, 2018. "Changes in women’s and men’s child care time in China, 2004–2011: the contributions of cohort replacement and intra-cohort change," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(3), pages 1275-1289, May.
    12. Tao, Dongjie & He, Lingyun & Hamilton, Jonathan & Xu, Ding, 2021. "Children's marriage and parental subjective well-being: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    13. Mayumi Kubo & Anoshua Chaudhuri, 2017. "Gender Gap in Health Status of Children in the Context of One-Child Policy in China: Is it Sibling Rivalry or Son Preference?," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 38(2), pages 204-217, June.
    14. Luciano Fanti & Luca Gori, 2014. "Endogenous fertility, endogenous lifetime and economic growth: the role of child policies," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(2), pages 529-564, April.
    15. Bansak, Cynthia & Dziadula, Eva & Wang, Sophie Xuefei, 2024. "How China's "Later, Longer, Fewer" Campaign Extends Life Expectancy: A Study of Intergenerational Support for Elderly Parents," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1403, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    16. Xiaoyu Wu & Jianmei Zhao, 2020. "Risk sharing, siblings, and household equity investment: evidence from urban China," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(2), pages 461-482, April.
    17. Sibo Zhao & Jie Zhang & Lisu Peng & Wenhui Yang, 2021. "Mental Health Outcomes among Chinese College Students over a Decade," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-14, December.
    18. Wang, Chao & Feng, Chen & Bai, Caiquan, 2023. "Industrial policy and resident health: Historical evidence from China’s Third Front construction," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    19. Christine Ho, 2019. "Child’s gender, parental monetary investments and care of elderly parents in China," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 741-774, September.
    20. Wang, Fei, 2012. "Family Planning Policy in China: Measurement and Impact on Fertility," MPRA Paper 42226, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:8:p:1767-:d:164162. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.