Abstract

Background: Low fruit and vegetable intake is the main contributor of micronutrient deficiencies in the developing world. World health organization recommends minimum amounts of 400g (five sernings per person per day) of fruit and vegetable per person per a day for the prevention of chronic diseases as well as for the prevention of micronutrient deficiencies. WHO estimates that low fruit and vegetable intake contributes to approximately 2.7million deaths per year from non-communicable diseases such as cardio vascular diseases, diabetic mellitus and stroke.

Objective: The main objective of this study was to assess fruit and vegetable consumption and associated factors among women of reproductive age attending maternal and child health department in public hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Methods: A cross sectional study design was used in public hospitals in Addis Ababa from 25th May to 1st July, 2021. A total of 422 women in reproductive age were participated in the study and data was collected by using pretested interviewer administered questionnaire. A simple random was applied to select 3 public hospitals found in Addis Ababa. Data were entered in to EPI info software and exported to SPSS for further analysis. A descriptive data analysis was conducted to summarize the information on fruit and vegetable consumption. A logistic regression model was carried out to identify associated factors of fruit and/or vegetable consumption. Statistical significant were declared at p-value less than 0.05.

Result: The study revealed that only 6.8% of the women consumed recommended amounts (≥5 servings per day) of fruit and/or vegetable. Being unemployed (AOR=2.66, 95% CI: 1.054, 6.72), being single (AOR= 0.57, 95% CI: 0.23, 0.14) and presence communication between wife and husband (AOR=0.16, 95% CI: 0.06, 0.43), were factors associated with women adequate fruit and vegetable consumption in Addis Ababa.

Conclusion and Recommendation: In this study adequate fruit and vegetable consumption by women is low. Women’s occupation, marital status and having communication between their husbands about F&V were strong predictors of adequate fruit and/or vegetable consumption. Hence we recommended health promotion interventions to scale up fruit and vegetable should pay attention to factors identified in this study.