Browsing by Author "Nyaruhucha, C. N. M"

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Nutritianal status, functional ability and food habits of institutionalised non- institutionalised elderly people in Morogoro region, Tanzania.
(East African Medical Journal, 2004-05-05) Nyaruhucha, C. N. M; Msuya, J. M; Matrida, E
To determine nutritional status, food habits and functional abilities of the institutionalised and non-institutionalised elderly. Design: A cross-sectional population survey. Setting: Free living and institutionalised elderly of Morogoro municipality, Tanzania. Subjects: A total of 100 elderly people, fifty institutionalised and fifty non-institutionalised were included. Gender distribution was of equal numbers. Measurements: Anthropometric measurements of weights and heights were taken to enable calculation of Body Mass Index (BMI) of each subject. Questionnaires were used to collect information on types of foods, amount and frequency of consumption and functional abilities of the elderly. Amount of food consumed was expressed in grams per person per day. Results: There were significant differences (p=0.001) in nutritional status between the institutionalised and the non- institutionalised males, but this relationship did not exist among the females. Similarly, 30% and 26% of the institutionalised males and females, respectively, and none of the non- institutionalised males was observed to be overweight. On the other hand, 39% and 23% of the non-institutionalised males and females, respectively, were underweight or malnourished. Consumption of sardines was higher (p=0.05) among the institutionalised subjects, but the situation was opposite for the case of fruits. Alcohol consumption was higher (p<0.05) among non- institutionalised subjects in both sexes. No difference was noted in consumption of beans, vegetables, cereals and meat. The most common functional disability was urinary incontinence (36%) while feeding (5%) was the least common. The most affected by urinary incontinence were institutionalised male subjects. Conclusion: There was a great variation between elderly people who are cared for in institutional centres and those who are cared for by their relatives in terms of nutritional status, reflected by their BMI levels. The institutionalised ones appear to be better off than their counterparts. However, this condition is not equally reflected in their eating habits. Generally, most of the elderly have poor or no source of income, which make them to have poor living conditions. They are also faced with problems of functional disabilities of which urinary incontinence was more common among males.
Nutritional status and feeding practices of under-five children in Simanjiro District, Tanzania
(Tanzania Health Research Bulletin, 2006) Nyaruhucha, C. N. M; Msuya, J. M; Mamiro, P. S; Kerengi, A. J
This study was undertaken to assess the nutritional status and feeding practices of <5 year children among the pastoral communities of Simanjiro district, northern Tanzania.. Face-to-face interviews with the sampled mothers were conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements using weight-for-age criterion were employed to assess the nutritional status. The study showed that 31% of the children were undernourished, some (6%) of them severely. Children 2 - 3 years old were the most affected. Breastfeeding duration of more than one year was common among the mothers. Fifty-four percent of the mothers weaned their children as early as two months after birth. The most common type of weaning food was maize porridge (gruel) mixed with cow’s milk (46%). Generally, 87% of households were facing some degree of food insecurity where some of them either experienced food shortage for 3-4 months (40%) or reported to eat less than three meals per day (75%). An educated mother was less likely to have an undernourished child, while a child from a teenage mother was more likely to be undernourished. Small size of a household was in favour of nutrition status. There is a great need to undertake interventions through community education to rescue the situation in Simanjiro district. Efforts should also be undertaken to mobilize the community members to adopt practices that favour good nutrition of children.
Nutritional status of underfive Children in a Pastoral Community in Simanjiro District, Tanzania
(Tanzania Health Research Bulletin, 2006) Nyaruhucha, C. N. M; Mamiro, P. S; Kerengi, A.J; Shayo, N.B
A study was conducted in Simanjiro district in northern Tanzania to determine the nutritional status of underfive children in a pastoral community. Weight and height measurements were carried out on 250 children and that of mean upper arm circumference (MUAC) on 226 children. The z-scores of weight-for-age, weight-for-height and height-for-age indicated that 31.2% of the children were underweight and 6.0% were severely underweight. Wasting was observed in 17.2% children of whom 3.2% were severely wasted. Severely stunted children were 3.2% while 14% were moderately stunted. Measurements of MUAC indicated that 35% and 3.5% of the children were moderately and severely undernourished, respectively. The nutritional status of the children under study was slightly lower than the national average. In conclusion, malnutrition in Simanjiro district is prevalent, and therefore, appropriate multidisciplinary approach on nutrition education, environmental sanitation and hygienic practices at family and community level need to be promoted to reduce childhood illnesses thereby increasing child health and nutritional status.
Physico-Chemical and grain cooking characteristics of selected rice cultivars grown in Morogoro
(2006) Shayo, N. B.; Mamiro, P.; Nyaruhucha, C. N. M; Mamboleo, T
A study was carried out at Sokoine University of Agriculture to characterize the local rice varieties grown in Morogoro Region basing on their physical-chemical characteristics and cooking quality parameters. Five cultivars of rice were analyzed and these included Kaling’anaula, Kihogo Red, Salama M17, Supa and Salama. The samples were collected from Crop museum, SUA. The chemical analysis was done to determine the proximate composition, gelatinization temperature and gel consistency as main determinants of cooking quality, sensory evaluation tests was done as determinants for consumer acceptance. The proximate composition results indicated protein content values between 7.94 and 9.46%, ash content between 0.55 and 0.97%, fat content between 0.57 and 0.85%, fiber content between 0.29 to 0.73%. The amylose content values were between 18.25 and 19.25%. The gel consistency results showed that all cultivars analysed were hard with the gel length values between 27.50 and 31.80 mm There was a significant differences in composition as well as acceptability between the varieties. In all aspects, Supa cultivar appeared to be the most superior with mean score of 4.30 while Kihogo Red was the least superior with mean score of 2.93. The differences in the cultivars could be from environmental as well as genetic factors. This pauses a need for more studies to be directed to these factors in order to come up with useful alternatives on how to manipulate them so as to improve the cooking quality parameters, improve production of the local rice cultivars and increase the market demand for local rice.
Prevalence and awareness of obesity among people of different age groups in educational institution in Morogoro, Tanzania
(East African Medical Journal, 2003-02-02) Nyaruhucha, C. N. M; Achen, J. H; Msuya, J. M; Shayo, N. B; Kulwa, K. B. M
Objective: To determine the prevalence rates and level of awareness of obesity among people of different age groups in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania. Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive study. Subjects: One hundred adults aged 19-50 years old and 40 pupils aged 14-18 years old. Setting: Four educational institutions in Morogoro Municipality were included in the study. The four institutions included a primary and a secondary school, a teacher's training college and a university. Results: The prevalence of obesity among the sampled subjects in Morogoro Municipality was 25 %, whereby 15.7% had a Body Mass Index (BMI) of between 25 and 30, and 9.3% had a BMI of more than 30. Age and occupation of all the subjects, together with marital status of adult subjects, were significantly related with obesity status. Prevalence of obesity increased with the increased age whereby subjects in the 41-50 years had the highest rate (45.4%). Employed subjects had higher rate of obesity (22.2%) than pupils or students. Similarly, married adults had higher rate of obesity (27.8%) than the single ones (4.7%). Unlike the old age group (41-50 years), 70% of the youngest subjects were not aware about the harmful effects of obesity. On the other hand, more than two thirds of all the subjects could not associate excess body weight with chronic non-communicable diseases such as coronary heart disease, high blood pressure and breathing problems. Conclusion: Results of the current study indicate that obesity is increasingly becoming a public health problem in Morogoro Municipality, and probably in many other places in Tanzania. There is need for more public awareness on the effect of obesity on people's health through information, education and communication. It would be of great importance if such interventions were introduced at early age of life, for example by inclusion in school curricula.