Nutritional status, dietary intake and dietary diversity of landfill waste pickers
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Date
2022Author
Swart, Elizabeth C
van der Merwe, Maria
Williams, Joy
Blaauw, Frederick
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The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the nutritional status, dietary
intake and dietary diversity of waste pickers in South Africa, a socioeconomically vulnerable group
who makes a significant contribution to planetary health through salvaging recyclable material from
dumpsites. Participants were weighed and measured to calculate body mass index (BMI). Dietary
intake was recorded using a standardised multipass 24 h recall. Individual dietary diversity scores
were derived from the dietary recall data. Data were collected from nine purposefully selected landfill
sites located in six rural towns and three cities in four of the nine provinces in South Africa, providing
nutritional status information on 386 participants and dietary intake on 358 participants after data
cleaning and coding. The mean BMI of the study sample was 23.22 kg/m2. Underweight was more
prevalent among males (22.52%) whilst 56.1% of the females were overweight or obese. The average
individual dietary diversity score was 2.46, with 50% scoring 2 or less. Dietary intake patterns
were characterised as monotonous, starch-based and lacking vegetables and fruits. The nutritional
status, dietary intake and dietary diversity of waste pickers reflect their precarious economic status,
highlighting the need for health, social and economic policies to improve access and affordability of
nutritious food.