Abstract
The limited production of staple foods in Tanzania’s coastal regions is changing dietary habits toward patterns of purchased food. However, the availability of high-quality protein found in seafoods makes these locations advantageous for the local indigenous population. This chapter presents findings from surveys conducted in the Lindi region of southeastern Tanzania with 84 adults in the coastal settlement of Kijiweni and 96 schoolchildren at Raha Leo Elementary School in the coastal town. Both studies showed a high frequency of fish consumption, ensuring a year-round intake of protein compared to other inland rural areas. Correlation analysis of research on school children indicated that frequent intake of pulses may have a negative effect on children’s health ( p < 0.005). One-fourth of the respondents in Kijiweni village experienced childhood death, and 16% had moderately underweight children. The former percentage was lower, and the latter was higher compared to those in other investigated villages. Food shortages were widespread, especially in the rainy season, but wild fruits, tubers, and vegetables were also utilized. Regarding the subjective assessment of health, vitality was high (49.10), and role emotional was low (30.92), similar to other villages. Vitality had correlations with assisting others with food (correlation coefficient 0.218, p = 0.049).
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Notes
- 1.
Based on field research in the village in September 2019.
- 2.
Local plant names are in bold.
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Acknowledgments
First, we would like to thank the women and men of Kijiweni village for answering the questionnaires; the village, district, and regional government for welcoming this research; and COSTECH for permission. Mr. Ally Hassani Mushangani (Village Executive Officer), Mr. Yusuf J. Jerashi, Mr. Tite R. Mzungu, Mr. Hafidhia A. Msusa, Mr. Hamisi A. Gudi, Mr. Juma M. Mkuweni, and Mr. Salumu A. Mkomi were part of a team responsible for interviewing the villagers. Mr. Frank M. Mbago and Mr. Masayuki Hayashi also accompanied us to Kijiweni village and identified major edible plants in the village. Mr. Tsuda Katsunori formulated the maps of the village.
We would also like to thank Dr. Anita Wagner and Dr. Barbara Gande for sharing the Swahili version of their SF-36. Thanks to the students who assisted in inserting and double checking the data insert, Mr. Stanislaus Acquah and Ms. Arai Naho for inserting and double checking the data insert, and Ms. Hoang Anne for inserting work. With considerable appreciation for those who were involved, the authors have checked and corrected their work, and the authors are fully responsible for the final compilation and reporting.
Among the authors, Maro was responsible for implementing the questionnaire and directly supervising the interviews, providing information on the region, and drafting the first manuscript. Kaale was responsible for the review, revision, and editing of the manuscript. Sakamoto was responsible for planning the research; formulation of the questionnaire; overall supervision of the implementation of the questionnaire and input/checking of data; supervision of the formulation of tables and diagrams; and the revision of the manuscript. Khemmarath was responsible for inputting, double checking, and compiling the questionnaire responses; calculating the SF-12; formulating most of the diagrams in the manuscript; and assisting in drafting the manuscript. Ohmori was also responsible for the planning of the research, formulation of the questionnaire, advising on the evaluation of the response on health and food intake, especially as a nutrition expert, and supervision in scoring the SF-12. All authors have gone through the manuscript and provided contributions and accepted the final manuscript.
The research is supported by the Japanese Government, JSPS Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI): mainly “Possibilities of wild edible plants and traditional meals in East Africa (18H03438),” partly supported by 25284171 and 18H00776; and the research assistance system of the Office for Promotion of Gender Equality, Utsunomiya University.
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Maro, A.C., Kaale, L.D., Khemmarath, P., Sakamoto, K., Ohmori, R. (2023). Coastal Traditional and Changing Dietary Patterns: Protein From Fish and Pulses as Well as Patterns of Purchased Food. In: Sakamoto, K., Kaale, L.D., Ohmori, R., Kato (Yamauchi), T. (eds) Changing Dietary Patterns, Indigenous Foods, and Wild Foods. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-3370-9_9
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