Contribution of Amaranthus cruentus and Solanum macrocarpon Leaves Flour to Nutrient Intake and Effect on Nutritional Status of Rural School Children in Volta Region, Ghana
Table 1
Background characteristics of participants by the study group.
Characteristics
Intervention (n = 53)
Control (n = 51)
value
Mean age (years)
7.3 ± 1.7
6.7 ± 1.8
0.081
Sex
Males
41.5
51.9
0.242
Females
58.5
47.1
0.176
Anthropometry
Weight (Kg)
23.0 ± 4.9
21.6 ± 3.9
0.088
Height (cm)
117.1 ± 11.3
120.6 ± 11.3
0.110
WAZ-score
−0.731 ± 0.906
−0.485 ± .989
0.189
HAZ-score
−0.723 ± 1.149
−0.592 ± 1.17
0.567
WHZ-score
−0.121 ± 1.362
−0.095 ± 1.41
0.398
BMI-for-age z score
−0.388 ± 0.899
−0.105 ± 0.908
0.113
Malnutrition
All category
34.0
41.2
0.051
Stunting (%)
13.2
17.6
0.530
Wasting (%)
11.3
15.7
0.084
Thinness (%)
5.7
3.9
0.381
Overweight (%)
3.8
2.0
0.681
Obesity (%)
0.0
2.0
0.068
Anaemia
All category
41.5
37.3
0.055
Mild
32.1
33.3
0.998
Moderate
9.4
3.9
0.051
Low vitamin A level
All category
66.0
64.7
0.087
Mildly low
26.4
27.5
0.995
Moderately low
24.5
17.7
0.053
Severely low
15.1
19.6
0.087
Infection status
Malaria parasitaemia (%)
34.0
37.3
0.726
Guardian’s age (years)
20–60
100.0
98.0
0.474
≥61
0.0
2.0
0.197
Daily food consumption pattern
Twice
1.9
0.0
0.199
≥thrice
98.1
100.0
0.344
Parental monthly income $ (GH¢)
≤$178 (GHȻ499)
96.2
92.2
0.371
≥$178 (GHȻ500)
3.8
7.8
0.237
Food taboos
Yes
72.5
64.2
0.362
No
27.5
35.8
0.334
Parental education
Formal education
96.2
94.1
0.712
No formal education
3.8
5.9
0.891
Household backyard garden
Yes
22
15.7
0.371
No
78
84.3
0.398
Dietary diversity score
Low (≤3 food groups)
15.0
13.7
Medium (4–5 food groups)
71.7
76.5
High (≥6 food groups)
13.2
9.8
values obtained by the independent t-test, otherwise chi-square test, are significant at .
