Browsing by Author "Muturi, Christine Wairimu"

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    Drivers of Food Choice, Dietary Practices and Nutrition Status of Women Aged 18–59 Years in Kiambu County, Kenya
    (Kenyatta University, 2025-07) Muturi, Christine Wairimu
    Drivers of food choice are complex factors that interact to influence individual food consumption. Twenty-eight percent of Kenyans between the ages of 18 and 69 are classed as either overweight or obese, with more than half of hospital admissions being due to illnesses related to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). In Kiambu, 55.6% of the women are either overweight or obese. This study was to explore the drivers of food choice, dietary diversity and the nutritional status of women aged 18-59 in Kiambu County. A cross-sectional analytical design was employed. Kiambu County was selected due to the residents' exposure to both rural and urban lifestyle influence. The sample size calculated was 420 women with a response rate of 383 women participants’ selected using multistage sampling. Data was collected by use of validated structured tools. Data analysis of mean, percentages, frequencies, Spearman’s rho and multinomial logistical regression was carried out using SPSS version 23.0. The study found that 63.9% of the women were either overweight or obese, while 67.6% had a waist circumference >80 cm, indicating a pressing public health concern due to high visceral fat. The study found a moderate level of dietary diversity among the participants (5.67 ±1.89), with 51.4% of the population meeting their Mean dietary diversity for women (MDD-W). All of the participants (100%) answered affirmatively that when asked whether it was important to them that the food they ate could be bought close by , was nutritious and looked nice as factors of convenience, health and sensory appeal. Marital status was strongly correlated with availability in shops and ease of preparation (is what I usually eat) (P=0.000), freedom from food scare as a factor of risk perception (P=0.000) and familiarity (is what I usually eat) (P=0.000). The study found no significant relationship between drivers of food choice and dietary diversity (P=0.308) as well as drivers of food choice and either BMI or waist circumference) (P= 0.171, P=0.921). Future research should explore various physiological stages of women, specific meals of interest, seasonal variations in food choice drivers, and the relationship between drivers choice of food and nutrition status in populations with specific non-communicable diseases.