Abstract:
Background: Unhealthy food consumptionshave become a global public health concern
because of their ‗triple burden adverse health effects‘, which is double burden of malnutrition
and diet related non-communicable disease. Lack of sufficient research focusing on unhealthy
food consumption among pregnant women in Ethiopia-specifically within the study area.
Objectives: This study aimedto assess the prevalence of unhealthy food consumption and
associated factors among pregnant mothers in Ambo town, West Shoa zone, Ethiopia, 2025
Methods: A Community based cross sectional study was conducted from October, 19to
November 25, 2024 in Ambo town. Systematic sampling technique was used to select 423
pregnant mothers. The data were collected using interviewer administered questionnaireby
kobo toolbox and exported to SPSS version 26 for analysis. Food intake was measured
through a 24 hours dietary recall. Both descriptive and analytical statistics were done and
displayed by texts, tables and figures. Binary logistic regression analysis was done to see the
association between dependent and independent variables. A multivariable logistic regression
analysis was employed to identify the factors associated unhealthy food. An adjusted odds
ratio with a 95% confidence interval was used to show the strength of the association, while a
p-value of less than 0.05 was used to declare statistically significant variables.
Results: The overall prevalence of unhealthy food consumption among pregnant women in
the Ambo town was 40.66% (95% (CI: 35.96, 45.36%). Being agebetween 18-24
(AOR=4.35,95% CI: (2.01, 9.43), mothers withno formal education (AOR = 3.14, 95% CI:
(1.59, 6.19), eating outside the home (AOR = 2.72, 95% CI: (1.39, 5.29), not receiving advice
on a healthy diet (AOR = 2.49, 95% CI: (1.15,5.44), experiencingfood cravings (AOR = 2.23,
95% CI: (1.34, 3.72) and internet usage (AOR = 1.93, 95% CI: (1.21, 3.07), were variables
significantly associated with unhealthy food consumptions.
Conclusion: According to current study, the overall unhealthy food consumption among
pregnant mothers in the study area was high.Being age 18-24, mothers with no formal
education, eating outside the home, not receiving advice on a healthy diet, experiencing food
cravings and internet usage were predictors of unhealthy food consumption.
