Use of variety/diversity scores for diet quality measurement: relation with nutritional status of women in a rural area in Burkina Faso.
OBJECTIVE
To develop scores for food variety and diversity to assess the overall dietary quality in an African rural area; and to study their relationship with the nutritional status of women of childbearing age.


METHODS
Cross-sectional.


METHODS
Sahelian rural area in the North-East Burkina Faso (West Africa).


METHODS
A total of 691 mothers with children below the age of 5 y, selected at random in 30 villages.


METHODS
A qualitative recall of women's food consumption during the previous 24 h made it possible to calculate a food variety score (FVS = count of food items consumed) and a dietary diversity score (DDS = count of food groups, among 14 groups). These scores were then divided into terciles. Body mass index (BMI), mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) and body fat percentage (BFP) were used to determine the women's nutritional status.


RESULTS
The overall dietary quality was poor: mean FVS (s.d.) = 8.3 (2.9) food items; mean DDS = 5.1 (1.7) food groups. A clear relationship was shown between both FVS and DDS (in terciles) and most nutritional indices. Women with a FVS in the lowest tercile had a mean BMI of 20.1, while those in the highest tercile had a BMI of 20.9 (P = 0.009). Those in the lowest tercile of DDS had a 22.8% prevalence of underweight vs 9.8% in the highest tercile (P < 0.0001). The latter relationship remained significant even when the subjects' sociodemographic and economic characteristics were accounted for.


CONCLUSIONS
Dietary scores measured at the individual level are good proxies for overall dietary quality of women living in a poor rural African area. These scores were also shown to be linked with the nutritional status of women.
IRD financed the study with the assistance of UNICEF for the purchase of anthropometric equipment. The first author received a research allowance from the French Ministry of Research through the doctoral school 393 of Pierre and Marie Curie University (Paris VI).
Savy
M
M
Nutrition, Food, Societies Unit (WHO collaborating Centre for Nutrition), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso savy@ird.bf
Martin-Prével
Y
Y
Sawadogo
P
P
Kameli
Y
Y
Delpeuch
F
F
D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods; D001132:Arm / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002050:Burkina Faso; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009752:Nutritional Status / Q000502:physiology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors