Healthy lifestyle and nutritional taboo practices of mothers: Implication for nutrition education

INTRODUCTION

Living a life without developing one of the numerous non-communicable diseases at any stage of life has become a major challenge women are facing today. Although most women are aware of the benefit of healthy lifestyle, yet majority of them find it difficult to change their unhealthy behavior capable of predisposing them to diseases. Worstill is women who are rural and semi-urban dwellers that are in the web of ignorance, scarcity, prejudice, and cultural taboo capable of influencing their health and lifestyle. Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely by the absence of disease or infirmity, while lifestyle is the way of life of a person or group of persons.[1] Healthy lifestyle helps to improve health and serve as a protector against diseases. Poor health results when a person or persons are unable to adopt the principle of healthy living such as good nutrition, access to clean environment, access to clean water, and access to good medical facilities.[2]

Literature has it that 80% of the premature heart disease stroke, type 2 diabetes and 40% of cancer could be prevented through the adoption of a healthy lifestyle.[3] It has become obvious that chronic diseases cannot be completely restricted despite the advances in science and technology without a change in lifestyle of the people. It is, therefore, important to monitor activities that predispose women to diseases all the way through investigations to provide the required assistance.

Most custom and traditional practices in Nigeria expose women to health and other challenges than other members of their household. Culture in Ojua et al.[4] is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, laws, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of the society. Culture in its simplest type can be said to be the mode of life of inhabitants of a community. The people firmly hold fast to the dictates of their cultural values given that they stand to get punished or undergo some misfortunes if they break the rules or laws of their culture. These practices not only impinge on their health but also other aspects of life as well as communal interaction and disease conditions. Some are advantageous while others are among the harmful cultural practices include female genital mutilation, child marriage, various taboos, or practices which stop women from controlling their productiveness: Dietary taboos such that prohibit them from eating some nutritious foods, traditional birth practices, son preferences, female infanticide, and dowry price to mention but a few.

Nutritional taboo or food taboo is a purposeful averting of nutritious food for reasons other than detest from food preference. Food taboo has been identified as one of the contributing factors to maternal undernutrition in pregnancy.[5] In some customs and traditional practices, expectant and lactating mothers are required to refrain from nutritious foods advantageous to their health. The custodian of the traditions of the land makes out certain foods as forbidden giving different reasons which in most cases are not true. In all of these, the significance of food to the general health of women cannot be overemphasized, knowing that malnutrition is a life series syndrome, which results to greater diseases later in life such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Women and younger children have been known to bear the burden of malnutrition in the rural setting and one of the reasons being nutritional taboos practiced by the people.[6,7]

The dietary status of women is predominantly significant since it is through women that their offspring emanates. An underfed mother is prone to giving birth to a low weight baby that will be vulnerable to diseases and untimely death. An aspect of undernourishment largely suffered by women is undernutrition, which is a major cause of ill health and casualty among women. Food taboo which is one of the taboos represents unrecorded communal rules mainly based on sacred cultural/chronological reasons that control the food accepted in a community. Food taboo and beliefs lie with the contextual factors included as one of the basic causes of malnutrition.[8] In line with the undernourishment saddle suffered by women and children around the world, the United Nations advocate nutrition interventions during the critical 1000-day window which is to take care of mother and child’s critical period of life.

In Esan West Local Government Area, food taboo is very much experienced under Ishan tradition and laws, like most Nigeria customs, customary practices are stuffed with laws and taboos aimed at perpetuating tradition. This has influence on the lifecycle of the woman in an attempt to obey the laws and custom of the land. For instance, women that are pregnant are prevented from eating milk, eggs, and snail. Gizzard and thighs of chicken or ducks are eaten by the men or elderly. Young mothers in some part of Benin and Ishan must not eat fresh meat or oil soup for days after postpartum. Investigation on nutritional taboo practices has been carried out in most ethnic groups in Nigeria.[4,9] None has been recorded in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo state. In light of all these, this study was, therefore, undertaken to determine the healthy lifestyle and nutritional taboo practices of mothers in Esan West Local Government of Edo state of Nigeria.

LITERATURE REVIEW

NUTRITIONAL TABOO

Nutritional taboo is as universal as food. It is commonly practiced. For instance, Ezema and Ezema[16] assessed attitude and sociocultural practice during pregnancy among women in Oyo state, it was found that cultural beliefs played significant roles in determining the kind of food women consume. A study by Alli et al.[17] in Pakistan showed that 12% of adult women in a community health center in Pakistan believed in restricting some food items during pregnancy. Some of these traditional practices, especially food taboos, are known to contribute significantly to maternal malnutrition, Kuzma et al.[18] also reported same among pregnant women in South Eastern Nigeria and Papua New Guinea, respectively.

METHODOLOGY

This study was conducted in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo state, using a survey research design. 300 mothers that were attending the primary health-care center of the local government area constituted the study. Simple random sampling technique was adopted to select from 700 mothers that attended the center within the study period. Every second mother attended at the clinic was included in the study.

RESULTS

Table 1 shows that respondents were in their energetic years 25–40, 127 (42.3%) and 40–50, 109 (36.3%). The finding also indicate that the level of education respondents are as follows; No formal education 59(19.69%), Primary education, 151(50.3%), and Secondary education 79(26.3%), National Diploma 09(3%), HND/B Sc2(0.66%) respectively. The household size of the respondent is between 5 and 7, 181 (60%).Majority of the respondent’s household size were between 5 and 7, 181(60%) while the respondent’s main occupation were; Trading 125(41.67%), Farming 125(41.67%).

Table 1: Demographic information of respondents

Table 2 indicates that a low proportion of mothers visit hospital regularly for medical checkup 32 (10.7%) and most of the rural women do not visit hospital regularly 268 (89.3%). None of the women smoke or take tobacco 300 (100%). Higher proportion of the women is exposed to smoke 268 (89.3%) while 32 (10.7%) were not exposed to smoke. Most of the respondents do not have regular water supply or clean water 298 (99.3%). Majority of the respondents 202 (67.3%) believe in the use of herbs in the treatment of disease 202 (67.3%). High proportion of respondents 181 (60.3%) prefer to be delivered by traditional birth attendant while 119 (39.7%) prefer orthodox practices. Majority of the respondents skip meals 202 (67.3%) while 88 (29.3%) do not skip meals. Furthermore, 187 (62.3%) still believe in circumcision while 113 (37.7%) do not believe that female should be circumcised. Those that visit neighbors are more than those that do not socialize 244 (81.3%)–56 (18.7%).

Table 2: Research Question 2: Healthy lifestyle practices of respondents

Table 3 indicates the food taboo practiced by the respondents are as follows that children would become thieves if given large portion of meat, fish, or eggs (68%), pregnant women should avoid snail (75%), larger portion of meat should be given to the man in the house (94%), children should be made to avoid bushmeat and certain meats (72.2%), gizzard and thighs of chicken should be given to the men (89.7%), and women should not consume fresh meat days after postpartum (67%).

Table 3: Nutritional taboos practices of respondents

DISCUSSION

The results in Table 1 showed that majority of the respondents were between 25 and 40 years indicating that they were in their energetic years. This finding is supported by FAO[19] which reported that women of such category are in their active and vitality age for they are in their childbearing period. It is expected that they should be present at the clinics for prenatal and postnatal visits. Educational level of the respondents also showed that majority of the respondents have primary school leaving certificate. Education helps an individual to change his or her behavior without being forced. The household size of the respondent is between 5 and 7, 81 (60%). This implies that most of their households are already tending toward a large sized family.

A lifestyle is healthy if it is accompanied with good practices such as regular visit to the hospital for medical checkup; result from the study is contrarily to the ideal practice. These women do not visit hospital. This is finding is further strengthened by Okechukwu[21] who reported that the number of women that utilize health-care facilities is still low, even when they have health challenges. This is injurious to their health; therefore, it has to change. Similarly, findings from this study indicate alcohol usage among the respondents, this corroborates report of Abor[22] that declared that regular smoking and high level of alcohol consumption in the adult population of his research; however, this observation may not be a general practice among adults as observed from the work of Fadupin[23] who found a low incidence of alcohol consumption among school teachers. This discrepancy may be credited to standard of living differences in environmental regions and cultural groups in Nigeria. Alcohol is one of the most commonly used psychoactive remedies in Nigeria. In addition, studies in Nigeria have connected alcohol addiction and extreme alcohol use with foremost health chaos among young adults and a strong risk factor for stroke in adults >45 years.[23]

Findings from Table 3 revealed that the nutritional taboo majorly practiced is as follows that children would become thieves if given meat, fish, or eggs, pregnant women should avoid snail, bushmeat, and certain meats, gizzard and thighs of chicken should be given to the men. This finding is supported by Adekunle and Unuorah[7] who reported that food taboo is still been practiced among the rural dweller, in many local government areas in Nigeria, several households do not eat certain meats because they were rejected animals. The children were deprived of eating these foods until they are matured lest they steal. According to him, the habit of serving better parts of animals and animal protein for male elders at the expense of the children is a common practice even among the enlightened families. In Esan West, many households have fixed ideas about what they eat and generally relied on staple foods such as cassava, yam, and like as first infant foods. Such parents confine their family from eating rats, snails, and gizzards even when they were unable to get enough protein. The nutritional taboos and restrictions consequently benefited the adult males at the cost of the susceptible groups that have fairly larger dietary requirements. In most cases, the affected foods are of animals’ source which is in a very short supply. These dietary taboos in most cases limit the intakes of vital nutrients among the people that practice them.

CONCLUSION

Women’s health and nutritional well-being are of paramount significance to the development of any nation. A hale and hearty woman nurtures a strong family and a healthy family makes up a healthy nation. The lifestyle and nutritional taboos of mothers studied so far revealed the unhealthy lifestyle practices and nutritional taboo practices capable of predisposing mothers to non-communicable diseases; therefore, there is a need for women to be in charge of their own health and welfare. They must do by shifting from their old lifestyle to meet the expected health standard. Furthermore, women have to acquire knowledge by taking advantage of government adult literacy programs in their local government areas so as to decrease the prevalence of maternal malnutrition.