Socioeconomic, Dietary, and Anthropometric indices of selected households during the hit of COVID-19 in Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

The emergence of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been found to greatly influence all aspects of human lives including economic, social, psychological, and nutritional well-being. This study assessed the socio-economic, dietary, and anthropometric indices of selected households during the hit of COVID-19 in Ogun state. The study was cross-sectional in design. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 300 households from the three senatorial districts. Data were obtained on socio-economic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, and dietary intake using a pre-tested structured questionnaire, standard anthropometric procedures, and food frequency questionnaire respectively. Data were analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, means, standard deviations, correlation, t-test, and Chi-Square. More than half (58.6%) of the respondents had no source of income during the lockdown, 37.7% had tertiary education and 26.4% earned ₦100, 000 - ₦199, 000 annually. The nutritional status of the household revealed that 29.9% of children 6-9 years and 23.5% of children 10-12 years were stunted, 24.7% of the mothers, and 28.3% of the fathers were overweight. The perceived adequacy of food consumed showed that 42% reported a reduction in the quantity of food consumed during the lockdown, 52%, 57.7%, and 63% perceived that their diet was inadequate in protein, fruits, vegetables, and dairy respectively. The emergence of COVID-19 threatened the socioeconomic, nutritional status, and food consumption pattern of the studied house, there is, therefore, a need for coping strategies that will improve nutrition and health status in cases of emergencies.