Main Article Content
Determinants of meal skipping and nutritional status of postmenopausal women in a rural community in South-Eastern, Nigeria
Abstract
Background: Regular meal consumption among postmenopausal women is fundamental to maintaining good health.
Objective: This study evaluated determinants of meal skipping and nutritional status of postmenopausal women in a rural community in south-eastern, Nigeria.
Methods: This cross-sectional study engaged 332 participants. A structured and validated interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on the sociodemographic characteristics and meal skipping habits of the participants. Anthropometric measurements of height, weight, waist and hip circumferences were obtained from the participants. Blood pressure, fasting blood glucose and lipid profile of the participants were determined. Statistical Product and Service Solution (SPSS) for windows version 21 was used for data analysis. Multinomial logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with skipping meals. p value of < 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: Most (48.5%) of the respondents were aged ≥ 62 years. Meals were skipped by 42.8%. Obesity (15.7%), overweight (37.0%), abdominal overweight/obesity (38.0%), hypertension (13.0%), prediabetes (36.7%), diabetes mellitus (1.8%), low HDLc (66.7%) and borderline high triglyceride (9.1%) and total cholesterol (24.2%) were prevalent among the participants. Participants who were unemployed (COR = 1.710), had no formal education (COR = 1.338), earned ₦28, 000 – ₦57, 000 monthly (COR =2.071), aged 50-55 years (COR = 2.261) and were in their early postmenopausal status (COR = 2.991) had higher odds of skipping meals. Monthly income, age and postmenopausal status were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with meal skipping.
Conclusion: Sociodemographic factors and postmenopausal status were associated with meal skipping among the group. Further studies are needed to evaluate the causal relationship between meal skipping, sociodemographic variables and postmenopausal status
