Eating Pattern, Dietary Diversity and Nutritional Status of Children and Adolescents Residing in Orphanages in Southwestern Nigeria

Background: The population of orphaned children is increasing at devastating levels especially in sub-Saharan Africa. In Nigeria, only very little is known about the eating pattern, dietary diversity and the nutritional status of children living in orphanages. This study therefore aimed to assess the eating pattern, dietary diversity and the nutritional status of children residing in orphanages in southwestern Nigeria.Methods: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study among 260 children in selected orphanages in Lagos State, south-western Nigeria, selected using two-stage sampling technique. The nutritional status of the respondents was assessed using the World Health Organization (WHO) growth reference values of 2007. Data were analyzed using the IBM SPSS version 24.0. The confidence interval was set at 95% with significant level at p<0.05.Results: Majority of the respondents (52.7%) were adolescents (10-19 years), 54.6% were females, 90.4% were attending schools and 90.0% were single-orphans. Majority of the respondents consumed fruits (97.7%), vegetables (80.0%), animal proteins (96.2%) and carbohydrates (96.2%) more than 3 times in the week preceding the study. The mean dietary diversity (DD) score was 4.6 ± 0.5, with 150 (57.3%) of the respondents having a high dietary diversity. Using BMI-for-age, 177 (68.1%) of the respondents were underweight and 23 (8.9%) were overweight/obese.Conclusion: Majority of the children living in orphanages were underweight, despite the reported healthy eating patterns and high dietary diversity. There is the need for nutritional interventions targeted at children living in orphanages in Nigeria. Keywords: Children; Dietary diversity; Eating pattern; Nutritional Status; Orphanag