Public awareness and perception of Ghana's restrictive policy on fatty meat, as well as preference and consumption of meat products among Ghanaian adults living in the Kumasi Metropolis

Factors Associated with Improved Knowledge of Metabolic Syndrome in Female Market Traders

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is considered to be a clustering of cardiometabolic diseases and is emerging as a public health concern. There is little evidence of this disease in market traders, and so the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and knowledge of MetS. In this cross-sectional study, anthropometry, blood pressure and bloods were collected using standardized methods to detect the prevalence of MetS using the harmonized method in a cohort of female Ghanaian market traders (n = 338). A questionnaire documented the knowledge of MetS. Linear regression was used to investigate the factors associated with knowledge and was reported as adjusted β values. Forty-two percent (n = 142) had MetS. The overall knowledge of MetS was low, driven by education (β = 0.22, p = 0.0001), low levels of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (β = -0.15, p = 0.018) and affiliation with the Ewe cultural group (β = -0.19, p = 0.0004). As females working in a sedentary occupation, market traders are vulnerable to MetS. Our findings indicate the urgent need for culturally sensitive education to promote healthy behaviours.

From Ampesie to French fries: systematising the characteristics, drivers and impacts of diet change in rapidly urbanising Accra

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is urbanising rapidly. One of the most visible outcomes of this urbanisation process is the change in the diets of urban residents. However, diet change in the context of rapid urbanisation is a complex and multi-dimensional phenomenon that encompasses multiple intersecting historical, environmental, socioeconomic, and political aspects. This study aims to unravel and systematise the characteristics, drivers and impacts of diet changes in Accra, through the interviews of multiple stakeholders and Causal Loop Diagrams. Diet change is characterised by the increased consumption of certain foodstuff such as rice, chicken, fish, vegetable oil, sugar, and ultra-processed food (UPF), and the decreased consumption of traditional foodstuff such as roots, tubers, and some cereals such as millet. These changes are driven by multiple factors, including among others, changes in income, sociocultural practices, energy access, and policy and trade regimes, as well as the proliferation of supermarkets and food vendors. Collectively, these diet changes have a series of environmental, socioeconomic, and health/nutrition-related impacts. Our results highlight the need to understand in a comprehensive manner the complex processes shaping diet change in the context of urbanisation, as a means of identifying effective interventions to promote healthy and sustainable urban diets in SSA. The development of such intervention should embrace a multi-stakeholder perspective, considering that the relevant urban actors have radically different perspectives and interests at this interface of urbanisation and diet change.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11625-022-01195-y.