Masters Degree Dissertations

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    Factors associated with nutritional status of women 18-59 years in Mukono municipality, Uganda
    (Kyambogo University, 2019-11) Athieno, Justine
    Recent findings indicate an increase in obesity and persistent underweight among women in Uganda. Obesity, overweight and underweight have been associated with diet and physical activity. It is however not clear which socio demographic, physical activity and dietary factors are most important influencers of nutritional status among urban women in Uganda. Identifying these will go a long way in determining appropriate intervention strategies for the control of obesity and the associated complications in Uganda. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity and how they are associated with socio demographic, dietary and physical activity factors among women 18-59 years in Mukono Municipality. Participants were randomly selected. A semi structured socio demographic questionnaire, semi quantitative food frequency questionnaire and the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire were used to collect data. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20, frequencies and percentages used to ascertain the prevalence and multinomial logistic regression models used to predict factors at 95% confidence interval. The study revealed that prevalence of BMI-defined overweight was 29.7%, obesity 20.7% and underweight 2.9%. Older women were less likely to have healthy WHR (AOR 0.2; 95% CI: 0.04-0.90; P<0.05), those with moderate monthly expenditure were less likely to be obese (AOR 0.3; 95% CI: 0.1-0.9; P<0.05). Frequent consumption of foods from: meat and eggs group increased the likelihood of having excessive abdominal fat (AOR 1.7; 95% CI: 1.02-2.8; P<0.05), (AOR 1.2; 95% CI: 1.0-1.5; P<0.05) respectively, nuts and seeds increased the likelihood of being overweight (AOR 1.2; 95% CI: 1.0-1.5; P<0.03), plantains decreased the likelihood of healthy waist circumference (WC) (AOR 0.8; 95% CI: 0.7-0.9; P<0.01), poultry decreased the likelihood of moderately unhealthy WC (AOR 0.7; 95% CI: 95% CI:1.0-1.4; P<0.05). There was low (31%) attainment of minimum dietary diversity for women. Non-participation in active transport related physical activity (PA) increased the likelihood of being over fat (AOR=1.8 95% CI: 1.5–3.0; P<0.05) while more time spent in work related PA decreased the likelihood of having severely unhealthy WHR (AOR=0.9 95% CI: 0.9–2.0; P=0.01). Attainment of WHO standard of PA was at 47.1%. In conclusion, obesity and abdominal obesity were prevalent among the respondents. They are associated with age, high parity, expenditure per month, time spent in work activity and reliance on walking for transport. They are also associated with a high frequency of consumption of meat, eggs, nuts and seeds and with a low consumption of poultry and vegetables. Key words: Socio demographic, diet, physical activity, nutritional status and women.
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    Maternal work load, food choices and nutritional status of rural smallholder female farmers in mpigi district, central Uganda
    (Kyambogo University [unpublished work], 2023-11) Mirembe, Winnie
    Introduction: This study investigated the interplay between maternal workload, food choices, and the nutritional status of rural smallholder female farmers in Mpigi District, Central Uganda. The research aimed to evaluate the nutritional status of women of reproductive age, explore maternal activities, food choices and determine the relationship between maternal workload, food choices and nutritional status. Methodology: A total of 386 female farmers aged 18-49, with children under five years, participated in the cross-sectional survey. Quantitative methods were employed, encompassing data collection on demographics, food choices, time allocation, anthropometric measurements, and dietary data. Random sampling method was used to select study participants within selected enumeration areas in the study district. Chi-square test of independence, was applied to assess the relationship between maternal workload, food choices, and the nutritional status of rural smallholder female farmers. Results: More than half (57%) of the respondents consumed food from less than five food groups. Dark green vegetables, vitamin A fruits/vegetables, meat, fish, chicken and eggs were the least consumed. This dietary pattern increased the risk of micronutrient deficiencies thus triple burden of malnutrition, with 5.2% underweight and 36.5% overweight or obese. The majority (92.5%) of smallholder female farmers worked for less than 10.5 hours per day, with various activities such as food crop fanning, child care, and food preparation occupying most of their time. Notably, smallholder female farmers who worked more extended hours were more likely to consume protein-rich foods like eggs, meat, fish, and chicken. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant association (p=0.049) between maternal workload and nutritional status, as mothers working longer hours were more likely to be overweight or obese. Conclusion: This research underscores the interplay between maternal workload, food choices, and the nutritional status of smallholder female farmers. It emphasizes the importance of empowering women in rural settings and the need for a balance between work hours, dietary intake and food choice to combat malnutrition effectively. Additionally, it suggests a potential trade-off between extended working hours and maternal health, which can negatively impact overall nutritional status.
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    Nutritional status, functional capacity and quality of life among elderly in Lugazi municipality, buikwe district
    (Kyambogo University [unpublished work], 2023-11) Zebosi, Benon
    Background: Every country in the world is facing a new demographic challenge due to drastic growth of elderly population. Adequate diet, nutritional status and functional capacity are important determinants of health status among this age group. With malnutrition, functional dependence and quality of life becoming serious health burdens among the elderly, there is need for early identification of the factors associated with nutritional status and functional capacity as a way to improve the health status and quality of life of aging individuals. Objectives: This study aimed at identifying the factors associated with nutritional status and functional capacity among elderly in Lugazi Municipality, Buikwe district. Methods: This was a community-based cross-sectional study among elderly persons aged 65 – 85 in 50 randomly selected Villages between September and December 2021. Simple random sampling technique was used with a sample size of 353 participants. Nutritional status was assessed by Mini-Nutritional Assessment (MNA), functional capacity was assessed by Lawton – Broody activities of daily living questionnaire. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics while the associations were determined by logistic regression method. Results: Among 353 participants, 26.9% (n=95) were found to be with a normal nutritional status, 47.0% (n=166) were at risk of malnutrition and 26.1% (n=92) were malnourished. 14.7% (n=52) were found to be dependent, 79.0% (279) had moderate independence while 6.2% were independent regarding instrumental activities of daily living. The factors associated with nutritional status among elderly after controlling for confounders in multi-variate logistic regression analysis were age 1.5 (1.38-1.59, p<0.001), gender 0.5 (0.36-0.79, p<0.002), level of education 0.8 (0.06-0.50, p=0.001), marital status 1.8 (1.23-2.72, p=0.003) and depression 1.9 (1.32-2.98, p=0.001) while functional capacity was associated with age 0.7 (0.6-0.8, p<0.001), marital status 0.2 (0.1-0.5, p=<0.001) and quality of life 0.1 (0.0-0.4, p<0.001). Conclusions: The prevalence of malnutrition among the elderly was high. Therefore additional steps to prevent, treat and care for the affected elderly is required. Social protection initiates such as the SCG should be made more nutritional sensitive to improve elderly nutrition directly. Elderly Empowerment Groups should also be formed at community level to engage in nutrition sensitive activities. Malnutrition and functional dependence were prevalent among the elderly and were associated with gender, age, level of education, marital status, quality of life and depression among the elderly persons in Lugazi Municipality. Keywords: Elderly Persons, Nutritional Status, Functional Capacity, Quality of Life, Depression
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    Determinants and variation of total body fat percentage, abdominal fat and waist circumference within and across semesters: a cohort study of Kyambogo University students
    (Kyambogo University [unpublished work], 2023-11) Nanduga, Esther
    University students may end up having a high rate of fat accumulation due to a sedentary lifestyle, a decrease in physical activity, and unhealthy dietary habits. This contributes to the rising prevalence of obesity which is linked to a higher risk of developing various chronic diseases. The study's main objective was to examine the determinants and variation of total body fat percentage, abdominal fat and waist circumference of Kyambogo university students within and across three semesters. A longitudinal cohort design was employed and multi-stage simple random sampling was used to select the sample from the university faculties. Data was analysed using the International Business Machines Corporation – Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM -SPSS) software. Chi-square analysis, multinomial logistic regression, and two way repeated Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were carried out all at 0.05 statistical significance. The results revealed that male students were 49.1% less likely to be obese [OR: 0.40, 95% CI 0.16-0.97]. Students who did not consume vitamin A-rich fruits were 2% less likely to be obese [OR: 0.02, 99% CI 0.00-0.19]. Students who carried out less than 150 minutes of physical activity were 48.6% more likely to be obese [OR: 2.74 95% CI 1.15-6.52]. In addition, the total body fat percentage and the waist circumference of the students increased gradually over the semesters. In conclusion, the study showed that the majority of the students did not have a healthy total body fat percentage and recommends that university students should be sensitised on the importance of maintaining a healthy nutritional status and what constitutes a healthy diet.