EFFECTIVE MEAL PLANNING FOR SPECIAL DIETARY NEEDSAND FAMILIES IN ESAN NORTH EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENTAREA OF EDO STATE

Abstract

This study investigated the meal planning for special dietary needs among families in Esan North East Local Government Area of Edo State. The specific purposes of this study are to identify the key challenges and barriers faced by families with special dietary needs meal planning and preparation, evaluate the features and functions to be included in a meal planning platform to best support families with special dietary needs and evaluate the effectiveness of resources and guidelines on safe food handling practices among families in Esan North East Local Government Area of Edo State. The descriptive research design using the survey was adopted in this study. The population covers the elderly that resides in Eguare, Opoji, Emu and Ugbegun communities. A sample size of 348 elderly was selected for the study. The proportional random sampling technique was used to select 20% of the total number of elderly from the entire population. The research instrument used in collecting data was the questionnaires. The primary data gathered from the field via questionnaire was analyzed using simple percentage method. The result showed that there is a significant difference between quality of diet and dietary habit of male and female elderly in Esan North East Local Government Area. It was therefore recommended that the elderly should eat a wide variety of foods from the five food groups: plenty of colourful vegetables, legumes/beans; fruit; grain (cereal) foods, mostly wholegrain and high fibre varieties; lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds; milk, yoghurt, cheese or their alternatives, mostly reduced fat. It was recommended that the elderly should eat a wide variety of foods from the five food groups: plenty of colourful vegetables, legumes/beans; fruit; grain (cereal) foods, mostly wholegrain and high fibre varieties; lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds; milk, yoghurt, cheese or their alternatives, mostly reduced fat