Food Taboos in Kenya are Hampering Dietary Diversification

Background

Diets in Kenya are hardly diversified due to many individual and
environmental factors that influence eating behaviour. Determinants of Kenyan healthy
eating are, however, complex and require to be analysed using a behavioural
theory.

Methods

Focus Groups Discussions (15 in total) in a double-layer design were
conducted comprising adult men and women from 5 villages of Vihiga County. Questions
explored knowledge, barriers and cues to action towards eating a diet
containing a wide variety of foods.

Results and Discussion

We found that healthy eating concepts are recalled, however, several
taboos restricting foods are limiting the quality of the local diet in terms of
diversity. Nutrition education is a cue to action.

Conclusions

We identified several individual and environmental determinants of
eating behaviour in the studied communities. Public health interventions should
focus on supporting healthy eating behaviours and educating the community about
the negative health effects of some taboos.

Keywords

Eating, Restrictions, Food Taboos, Africa