Food Faddism Practices And Associated Factors Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care In Public Health Facilities Of Shaggar City, Oromia, Central Ethiopia

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.