Abstract:
Background: Food faddism is any dietary practice that either eliminates one or more of the
essential food recommends consumption of one type of food in excess at the expense of other
foods for extraordinary health benefit.
Objectives: To assess the magnitude of food faddism practices and its associated factor among
pregnant women attending antenatal care in the public health facilities of Shaggar city, Oromia,
central Ethiopia, 2024
Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study design using a mixed approach was conducted
from March 1, 2024, to May 30, 2024, among 424 randomly selected pregnant women for
quantitative and purposive sampling for qualitative data at health facilities in Shaggar city,
Oromia, central Ethiopia. A face to face interview using pretested and structured questionnaires
modified from different literature for quantitative and an in-depth interview guide for qualitative
was used to collect data. The collected data was entered using Epi-data version 3.1 and analyzed
using SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics and bivariate and multivariable logistic regression
analysis was done. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) was
presented at a p value <0.05.
Result: From a total of 424 pregnant women recruited, 416 pregnant women responded to the
questionnaire with a response rate of 98%. The study found that 93 (22.4%) (0.15-0.29 at 95%
CI) of the study participants practiced food faddism. Adequate knowledge (AOR= 2.45, 95% CI:
1.3-4.62), a favourable attitude (AOR=9.16, 95% CI: 4.80-17.47), urban residents (AOR=1.52,
95% CI: 1.02-2.41), women with private employees (AOR=1.43, 95% CI: (.89-2.31), family size
(AOR=1.17.95%CI:.68-2.02) and monthly income (AOR=1.54, 95% CI: 0.28-1.9) were factors
associated with food faddism practices.
Conclusion and Recommendation: The findings of this study showed that the magnitude of
food faddism practices was high among the study participants. The study participants adhered to
fad diets in order to lose weight and maintain health, and the most fad diets were dark green
leafy vegetables and fruits. Improving awareness of pregnant women on balanced diet through
health education is vital.
