RESUMO
Introduction: Chronic gastritis is one of the most prevalent disorders affecting individuals, which affects hundreds of millions of people in different ways around the world. The significant incidence of poor dietary quality and diet-related illnesses may be addressed by orienting customers toward healthier food options. The objective of the study was to estimate the knowledge of front-of-package labels (FoPLs) and food group-based dietary intake of nutrients among patients with chronic gastritis. Materials and Methods: The study design was a hospital-based cross-sectional study that was done in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. The study population included 208 chronic gastritis patients between 20 to 60 years of age selected by systematic sampling. Detailed information on sociodemographic and lifestyle factors was collected using a questionnaire and 24-h dietary recall was done. The objective assessment of Knowledge of FoPLs was assessed mock package images representing a fictional brand to prevent other factors from interfering with product evaluation. Results: A total of 208 patients were studied with a near-equal proportion of males and females. Among participants, more than half (57.2%) can interpret FoPL, more than three-fourths (77.4%) have a belief that they eat a healthy diet mostly and only half (52.4%) of participants are somewhat knowledgeable about nutrition, and finally almost half (46.6%) of participants are not seeing the FoP label during food purchase. The mean score of knowledge of FoP labeling was 0.92 ± 1.135. Knowledge of FOPL was positively associated with the age of study participants OR 0.178 (95% CI: 0.178 to 0.856) with P value = 0.02. Grains have the maximum intake among all the food groups with a mean intake of 123.21 g/day. Conclusion: The majority of participants do not know the food labeling, thus methods of education that focus on dietary interventions are urgently needed to raise awareness among the people.
RESUMO
Introduction: Anemia is a serious public health issue in India, especially among women, adolescent girls, and young children. Tribal people reside mostly in remote underserved regions with little or no basic civic amenities which makes them a highly vulnerable group of Indians. The study aimed to identify unknown risk factors for anemia among tribal lactating mothers. Methodology: It was a mixed method prospective cohort study for 10 months carried out among 340 scheduled tribes (ST) mothers in 10 clusters in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Data collection using a questionnaire, 24 hours dietary recall, anthropometric measurement, and hemoglobin estimation was done. Weekly local recipe talk in the mother's kitchen, informal group discussions, was conducted for 12 weeks after baseline data collection. The audio and video tapes of the weekly local recipe talk in the mothers kitchen were transcribed verbatim and then translated into English. The individual responses were grouped as barriers related to acceptability, availability, accessibility, use and utilization, appropriateness, and nutrition environment. Results: A total of 340 mothers were enrolled initially of which 315 mothers were studied in an end-line survey with an attrition rate of 7.3%. Over 80% mothers belonged to Yerukula, Yenadis, Lambadi/Sugali tribes, respectively. A total of 345 weekly local mother kitchen recipe talks were conducted in 10 clusters. In the present study, only few mothers mentioned food accessibility and availability issues. Surprisingly, lack of skill to cook the commonly consumed local food item among Indian mothers were recorded. Lack of time for cooking, lack of knowledge of nutritious benefits of food, and use of ready to eat food were other important key findings. Conclusion: The study documents initiation of transition of the tribal lactating mothers towards urbanization. The lack of knowledge of cooking, coupled with lifestyles of urban areas exposes the early aged, poor, low literate mothers to the trap of anemia.
