SOCIO-ECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF DIETARY DIVERSITY AMONG WOMEN OF CHILD BEARING AGES IN NORTHERN GHANA

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to analyse dietary diversity among mothers of child bearing ages in Northern Ghana and to identify socio-economic determinants of dietary diversity among these women. Data used in this paper were obtained from USAID sponsored METSS-Feed-The Future Population Baseline survey conducted in Northern Ghana in 2012. Descriptive statistics and Probit Regression analysis were used in analysing and identifying socioeconomic determinants of dietary diversity and the results presented in tables and graphs. The study found average dietary diversity score among the fifteen different food groups considered to be 5 (SD =2.41), with more than half of the mothers interviewed having their dietary diversity score falling below 5. Results of the probit analysis found age, marital status, and household membership structure, participation in household decision making, ethnicity and literacy as significant socioeconomic determinants of dietary diversity among mothers in Northern Ghana. The low dietary diversity among mothers, as revealed in this study is worrying and of great concerns requiring concerted policy intervention. It is therefore recommended as a matter of urgency that public health policy directions have to focus on helping improve dietary diversity among women through public education targeted at influencing eating habits and improving women’s participation in household decision making processes.