Nutrition
Vision Statement
To be a hub for cutting edge nutrition research at both National and Global level in order to improve the health and well-being of communities in Ghana, the African sub region and beyond through the effective application of findings from nutrition research to prevent disease.
Mission Statement
To better human health by
- Generating and applying new and relevant knowledge through quality nutrition research
- Training and equipping undergraduate and graduate students with the necessary skills for nutrition research and laboratory methods
- Providing technical support and services to governmental/public and private institutions/businesses
Departmental Research Activities
The Department of Nutrition has extensive experience in Applied Nutrition research. The department’s research spans the life cycles: maternal, infants, young children, school age children, adolescents, and women of reproductive age. We have experience in community-based research in the area of livelihoods and food security, infant and young child nutrition with focus on breast feeding, complementary feeding and the feeding of children born to HIV-positive mothers. We have been involved in the development of food-based guidelines for children 6-23 months in Ghana as well as evaluation of the Ghana School Feeding Programme. Our research agenda also focuses on other issues of global importance such as the nutrition transition and its attendant problems which include the surge in non-communicable diseases and hidden hunger.
Ongoing Activities
#1
Nudging for good: Real-time AI-driven diagnostics and behavior change to improve adolescents’ diets and nutrition in urban Ghana
#2
Supplementation trial of KOKO plus among HIV exposed children in Accra
#3
Effects of composite food powder on vitamin A, anaemia and growth status of young Ghanaian children under five years of age in Adaklu District, Volta Region, Ghana
Key Research Findings
Cowpea-based food containing fishmeal eaten with vitamin C-rich drink improved haemoglobin concentration and reduced prevalence of anaemia among children
Green leafy vegetables powder has the potential of reducing prevalence of anaemia and low vitamin-A status among school children
Composite food powder has the potential of maintaining high haemoglobin levels among children under five years of age.
Key Facilities & Labs
- High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
- Spectrophotometer
- Air oven
- Protein distillation unit
- Fat extractor
- Sensitive weighing balances
- Refractometer
- Amino acid analyzer
Key Methods Employed in Department
- Beta-carotene, total carotenoids, vitamin A, and vitamin D analyses
- Proximate analysis of food samples
- Total sugars and total solid determination
- Amino acid analysis on biological samples
Key services rendered to both internal stakeholders and the external community
The department has international recognition for Vitamin A and carotenoid analysis and has provided laboratory support for both national and international vitamin A programmes. Scientists in the department have also provided technical support in the design and evaluation of health and nutrition intervention programmes implemented by organizations such as UNICEF, the LINKAGES project, BASICS, Freedom from Hunger, GIZ among others.
Key Research Projects
Gallery
Key Publications
- Egbi G, Tohuoenou MM, Glover-Amengor M, Adom T. The impact of seasonal variation on anemia and nutritional status with associated factors in 6-12 years Ghanaian school age children in peri-urban communities. Human Nutrition & Metabolism 2021; 26: 200135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hnm.2021.200135
- Gelli A, Masset E, Adamba C, Alderman H, Arhinful DK, Aurino E, Folson G, Osei-Akoto I, Asante FA. School meals as a market for smallholder agriculture: Experimental evidence from Ghana. IFRI Discussion Paper 2045. Washington DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.134616
- Lambrecht NJ, Wilson ML, Bridges D, Eisenberg JNS, Adu B, Baylin A, Folson G, Jones AD. Ruminant-Related Risk Factors are Associated with Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Infection in Children in Southern Ghana. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2021; 106 (2): 513-522. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.21-0550
- Adi-Dako O, Kumadoh D, Egbi G, Okyem S, Addo PY, Nyarko A, Osei-Asare C, Oppong E, Adase E. Strategies for formulation of effervescent granules of an herbal product for the management of typhoid fever. Heliyon. 2021; 7(10): e08147. https://doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08147
- Tetteh M, Addai-Mensah O, Siedu Z, Kyei-Baafour E, Lamptey H, Williams J, Kupeh E, Egbi G, Anna Boadi Kwayie AB, Abbam G, Afrifah DA, Debrah AY, Ofori MF. Acute Phase Responses Vary Between Children of HbAS and HbAA Genotypes During Plasmodium falciparum Infection. J Inflamm Res. 2021; 14: 1415–1426. https://doi.org/10.2147/JIR.S301465
- Lambrecht NJ, Wilson ML, Baylin A, Folson G, Naabah S, Eisenberg JNS, Adu B, Jones AD. Associations between livestock ownership and lower odds of anaemia among children 6-59 months old are not mediated by animal-source food consumption in Ghana. Matern Child Nutr. 2021;17 (3):e13163. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13163
- Egbi G, Glover-Amengor M, Tohouenou MM, Zotor F. Contribution of Amaranthus cruentus and Solanum macrocarpon Leaves Flour to Nutrient Intake and Effect on Nutritional Status of Rural School Children in Volta Region, Ghana. J Nutr Metab. 2020; 2020:1015280. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/1015280
- Gelli A, Aurino E, Folson G, Arhinful D, Adamba C, Osei-Akoto I, Masset E, Watkins K, Fernandes M, Drake L, Alderman H.J. A School Meals Program Implemented at Scale in Ghana Increases Height-for-Age during Midchildhood in Girls and in Children from Poor Households: A Cluster Randomized Trial. Nutr. 2019;149(8):1434-1442. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxz079
- Azupogo F, Aurino E, Gelli A, Bosompem KM, Ayi I, Osendarp SJM, Brouwer ID, Folson G. Agro-ecological zone and farm diversity are factors associated with haemoglobin and anaemia among rural school-aged children and adolescents in Ghana. Matern Child Nutr. 2019;15(1): e12643. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.12643
- Armar-Klemesu M, Osei-Menya S, Zakariah-Akoto S, Tumilowicz A, Lee J, Hotz C. Using Ethnography to Identify Barriers and Facilitators to Optimal Infant and Young Child Feeding in Rural Ghana: Implications for Programs. Food Nutr Bull. 2018;39 (2):231-245. https://doi.org/10.1177/0379572117742298
Internal Collaborator(s)
- Prof. Collins Ahorlu, Epidemiology Department
- Dr. Daniel Arhinful, Epidemiology Department
- Dr. Michael Ofori, Immunology Department
- Dr. Irene Ayi, Parasitology Department
- Dr. Bright Adu, Immunology Department
External Collaborator(s)
- Dr Aulo Gelli, Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington DC
- Dr Phuong Nguyen, Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington DC
- Dr David Hughes, Associate Professor of Entomology and Biology, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Penn State University
- Dr Hoang Thu Nga, Adjunct Faculty and Technical Advisor, National Institute of Nutrition
- Dr Marie Ruel, Director, Poverty, Health and Nutrition Division, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), USA.
- utoshi Yamauchi PhD, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington DC
- Dr David Puplampu, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Ghana Medical School, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra
- Geeta Appanah, Ph.D, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia
- Nathalie Lambrecht, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Prof. Francis Zotor, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana
- Prof. Matilda Steiner-Asiedu, University of Ghana, Legon
- Prof. Kwesi Firibu Saalia, University of Ghana, Legon
- Dr. Winifred Ofosu, Ghana Health Service, Koforidua
- Mrs. May Glover-Amengor, Food Research Institute, CSIR, Accra, Ghana
Funder(s)
- Foundation Botnar
- Nestle Foundation for the study of problems of nutrition in the world
- Government of Japan
- International Society of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA)