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BACKGROUND: Older adults, both institutionalized and free-living are vulnerable to nutritional deficiencies and poor nutritional status, which affect morbidity and quality of life amongst them. Yet, little attention on nutritional needs is given to this vulnerable group in many developing countries, and very little data exist on the nutritional status of older Ghanaians. OBJECTIVE: This study assessed dietary intakes, anthropometric status, and anaemia prevalence among older adults in Effutu Municipality, Ghana. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional design, anthropometry, repeated 24-hour dietary recall, haemoglobin levels were determined among 150 older adults (60–87 years). The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) questionnaire was used to determine malnutrition prevalence among older adults. RESULTS: None of the older adults met estimated average requirement (EAR) and adequate intake (AI) for vitamin E and calcium respectively, and 72.0%, 71.3%, 99.3%, 98.7%,76.0% had insufficient intake for energy, protein, zinc, folate and vitamin C respectively. Also, 39.3% were anaemic using haemoglobin cut-offs, 12.0% were malnourished based on the MNA tool and 28.0% were underweight based on BMI index. Married older adults (OR = 0.1, p = 0.005, 95% CI = 0.1–0.5) had lower odds for anaemia than those who were divorced. Underweight participants had 11.7 increased odds of being anaemic (OR = 11.7, p = 0.048, 95% CI = 1.0–135.0) than overweight participants. Those who had adequate vitamin C (OR = 0.3, p = 0.018, 95% CI = 0.1–0.8) and folate (OR = 0.2, p = 0.396, 95% CI = 0.1–6.7) intakes had lower odds of being anaemic than those with inadequate vitamin C and folate intakes, while those who had adequate iron (OR = 1.4, p = 0.412, 95% CI = 0.6–3.2) and vitamin B12 (OR = 1.6, p = 0.473, 95% CI = 0.5–5.3) intakes were more likely to be anaemic CONCLUSIONS: Inadequate nutrient intakes, anaemia, underweight and malnutrition prevalence were found among these older adults. Anaemia was associated with being underweight, but not nutrients intake. The nutritional needs of older people should be addressed to reduce risks for disease.

Nutrients are critical for optimal brain development, and good nutritional status is associated with cognitive development and improvement. The relationship between micronutrients intake and cognition in Ghanaian school‐aged children has not been studied. The study investigated dietary intakes of micronutrients and cognition test performance of school‐aged children. A cross‐sectional study was undertaken among 438 school children, aged 9–13 years from ten randomly selected basic schools in Kumasi, Ghana. Socio‐demographic data were obtained from a structured questionnaire. Dietary intakes of iron, zinc, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin B12, and vitamin A were determined from repeated 24‐hr dietary recall data from 351 children, while cognition test was performed using a Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM), a 36‐question test. Among 351 children, 156 (44.4%) had inadequate zinc intake, whereas 96 (27.4%) had inadequate iron intake. More than 1 in 2 children had inadequate vitamin A intake while 55.8% and 53.0% had inadequate vitamin B12 and folate intakes, respectively. More school‐aged boys (66.3%) than girls (46.8%) had inadequate vitamin B12 intake (χ 2 = 13.393, p

Background. Dyslipidemia and hypertension are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Objective. The study sought to evaluate the effects of Borassus aethiopum-fortified bread on metabolic risk factors among CVD outpatients. Method. From August 2016 to April 2017, a pilot study using a single-blinded randomized placebo-controlled trial was conducted by administering Borassus-fortified bread (150 g) and indistinguishable placebo (150 g white flour bread) daily to 122 CVD outpatients at 37 Military Hospital, Accra, Ghana, for 90 days. Body composition, blood pressure, and biochemical parameters were evaluated before and after the intervention. Results. Following the intervention, the mean waist circumference (before: 98.3±14.6 cm, after: 95.9±15.8 cm, P=0.030), BMI (before: 31.4±6.9 kg/m2, after: 28.0±5.8 kg/m2, P=0.027), and visceral fat (before: 10.4±3.2, after: 9.9±3.0, P=0.013), as well as systolic (from 161.2±25.5 to 137.6±22.9and diastolic (from 99.2±13.6 to 85.1±10.8) blood pressure, were significantly reduced among the experimental group. Likewise, serum total cholesterol (TC), LDL, and HDL were significantly reduced within the experimental group before (TC: 5.9±1.1, LDL: 3.4±1.1, and HDL: 2.2±0.5) and after the intervention (TC: 4.9±1.1, LDL: 2.8±0.9, and HDL: 1.5±0.4) (TC: P=0.001, LDL: P=0.016, and HDL: P < 0.001, in mmol/L). These reductions were not observed in the controls. Conclusion. The Borassus-fortified bread significantly reduced blood pressure and improved lipid profile and other metabolic risk factors among the CVD outpatients studied. Therefore, its potential in the management of CVDs and other metabolic-related diseases should be looked at.

Soups are major components of Ghanaian dishes. The composite nature of Ghanaian soups, in general, tend to make the calorie and macronutrient composition highly variable. This study sought to determine the proximate composition of selected Ghanaian soups from defined recipes and to photographically present quantities of the soups, measured with common Ghanaian household food measures, equivalent to servings of protein and carbohydrates. Two types of each conveniently selected soup (light soup, groundnut soup, kontomire (cocoyam leaves) soup and palm nut soup) were prepared; one with animal protein and the other without. The soups prepared include; LS1- light soup with garden eggplant (African eggplant); LS2- light soup with garden eggplant and chicken GS1- groundnut (peanut butter) soup without animal protein; GS2- groundnutsoup with chicken; PS1- palm nut soup without animal protein; PS2- palm nut soup with smoked catfish and herrings. Proximate analysis was done to determine macronutrient content of all the soups. Each soup was measured using a household food measure (150 ml soup ladle) to obtain a 15 g carbohydrate and 7 g protein equivalent and then photographed. Carbohydrate content of the soups ranged between 1.18 g-8.43 g, proteinwas between 0.34 g-4.31 g and 0.14 g-7.78 g for fat per 100 g of edible portion. Palm nut soup with animal source protein had the highest carbohydrate (8.43 ± 0.86 g) and fibre (1.99 ±0.22 g) content. Soups with the highest protein and fat content were GS2 (4.29 ± 0.14 g) and PS1 (20.39 ± 3.54 g) respectively. Serving sizes of the soups prepared ranged approximately between 1-8½ soup ladles (using 150 ml soup ladle) per 15 gcarbohydrate equivalence and 1-13 soup ladles (using 150 ml soup ladle) per 7 g protein equivalence. It took variable quantities of the prepared soups to obtain the target serving sizes with PS2 having the least quantity (~1 soup ladle) for 15 g carbohydrate serving and PS1 having the least amount (~1 soup ladle) for 7 g protein serving. The large serving size of most of the soups required to meet a serving of protein implied that those soups should be eaten together with food sources rich in protein, in order to appreciably enhance the protein intake of individuals. Key words: Composite Ghanaian soups, serving size, protein, carbohydrates, fats, proximate composition

Purpose In Ghana, the body mass index (BMI) is widely used in clinical practice in assessing weight status, but it is limited as a measure of adiposity. The purpose of this study was to compare bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and body mass index (BMI) methods in determining obesity among some Ghanaians. Design/methodology/approach This was a cross-sectional survey involving 134 participants whose BMI were determined. Percentage body fat mass (%BF) and percentage visceral fat (%VF) were obtained by BIA using a hand-to-hand Omron body composition monitor with a weighing scale. Findings Based on the WHO BMI criteria, 6.0 per cent of the participants were obese. However, according to BIA 18.7 and 20.9 per cent of the participants were obese according to % BF and %VF, respectively. The BMI and %BF showed higher prevalence of obesity among female participants (8.2 and 34.4 per cent, respectively) than male participants (4.1 and 5.5 per cent, respectively), whereas for %VF, obesity was higher among male participants than female participants (26.0 per cent, 14.8 per cent). There was significant positive correlation between BMI and % BF (r = 0.604, p = 0.001); and between BMI and %VF (r = 0.555, p = 0.001). Research limitations/implications There are discrepancies in the prevalence of obesity in the study population as measured by BMI and BIA methods. This suggests that the BMI and BIA may not be reliable tools for assessing obesity in this population. Further studies are needed to determine the cut-offs for BMI and BIA that are associated with metabolic risk in the population. The small sample size limits the generalizability of findings of this study. Originality/value Body composition tends to vary by ethnicity and race; hence, it is essential to determine the appropriate tool for assessing adiposity in African populations for prompt and targeted interventions.