Objectives: To study dietary diversity and its relationship with socio-economic and
nutritional characteristics of women in an urban Sahelian context.
Design: A qualitative dietary recall was performed over a 24-h period. Dietary
diversity scores (DDS 5 number of food groups consumed) were calculated from
a list of nine food groups (DDS-9) or from a list of 22 food groups (DDS-22) which
detailed both micronutrient- and energy-dense foods more extensively. Body
mass index (BMI), mid upper-arm circumference and body fat percentage were
used to assess the nutritional status of the women.
Setting and subjects: Five hundred and fifty-seven women randomly selected in
two districts of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.
Results: The mean DDS-9 and DDS-22 were 4.9 6 1.0 and 6.5 6 1.8 food groups,
respectively. In the high tertile of DDS-22, more women consumed fatty and
sweetened foods, fresh fish, non-fatty meat and vitamin-A-rich fruits and vegetables.
The DDS-9 was not associated with the women’s socio-economic characteristics
whereas the DDS-22 was higher when the women were younger, richer
and had received at least a minimum education. Mean BMI of the women was
24.2 6 4.9 kg m–2 and 37% of them were overweight or obese (BMI $ 25 kg m–2).
Neither the DDS-9 nor the DDS-22 was associated with the women’s anthropometric
status, even though there was a trend towards fewer overweight women in
the lowest tertile of DDS-22.
Conclusion: In this urban area, the qualitative measurement of dietary diversity is
not sufficient to identify women at risk of under- or overweight.