The Influence of Nutrition Education on the Health of Women in Moyamba Town, Southern Region of Sierra Leone

The research work investigated the influence of nutrition education on the health of women in Moyamba town. The investigation adopted a descriptive design of a survey in this town. The study used a target sample population of twenty-five (25) women, lactating mothers, five (5) pregnant women, elderly five (5), aged women five (5). Adolescent five (5). Random sampling technique were used to select these women at various areas, schools, ante natal, post-natal clinics and outpatient department. Questionnaires were administered and interviews conducted. The result analyzed reveled that, tradition, poverty, negligence and inadequate logistics, illiteracy and other social factors such as poor education on good health leads to the risk of nutrition disorders in women such as mal-nutrition, diabetics, obesity, underweight, overweight, heart failure, complicated labour and infant and maternal mortality. another factor was   Lack of proper nutrition education in schools. Nutritionist should be given special allowance in order to motivate them. Facilitate nutrition education at clinics, hospital radio and television discussions, postal and sign board with nutrition messages  to the public  as well as school , administrators should make it a point of duty that students are exposed to nutrition messages and that food and nutrition be a core subject in schools in other to prevent diet related diseases. This will enhance healthy environment and nation.


Introduction
Nutrition Education is the process of teaching the science of nutrition to individuals or group. Health professionals in their own ways have different roles in educating an individual in the clinics, communities and hospitals. Nutritionistor dieticians serve to assist or enable individual to incorporate changes in eating patterns and behavior into their lives. Nutrition is an important issue in the health sector of any nation.
Nutrition education needs to be a much more comprehensive enterprise than information dissemination in order to be effective. Nutrition education needs to address food preferences person related factors such as perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, and social norms; and environmental factors. Nutrition education has been defined as "any combination of educational strategies, accompanied by environmental supports, designed to facilitate voluntary adoption of food choices and other food and nutrition-related behaviors, conducive to health and well-being nutrition education is Corresponding Author: Dr. IR, Program in Nutrition, Department of Health and Behavior Studies.
Nutrition education is vital in the prevention of obesity, hypertension, diabetics and other cardiovascular diseases, complicated labour, infant and maternal mortality. The lack of information, leads to poor and inadequate food habits and therefore there will be swelling limbs. Faces, complied with odema of the esctremities obesity and overweight. Women in Africa lived more on energy food as their staple food such as carbohydrate food, starchy foods, saturated fats and oil with less exercise and consume less fruits and vegetables and protein.

Methodology
The study was carried out in Moyamba town, the district head quarter of Moyamba district in the southern region of Sierra Leone. The section in Moyamba town selected were Salina section, Sembehun road section, Yeyema road section, Giblehun section.
A total of twenty five (25) women comprising of five(5) pregnant women, five (5) lactating women, five(5) aged women five (5) and adult women five(5) were targeted from the different section stated above. These women provided the necessary information on nutrition education provided to them respectively.
The data collection tools used were questionnaires and face to face discussions. The questionnaire developed contained items on the different aspect of the objectives of the investigation outlined in the study of Nutrition Education and the different category of respondents received . questionnaires on the above study. A face to face conversation, discussions were held in a focus group discussion at the different sections selected for the study. This was done to get a first hand information on the effectiveness of nutrition education amongst women in Moyamba township. The result was analyse and presented in       main staple food eaten in excess, saturated fat, sugar and proteins, they most of the time take insufficient fibres, fruits and vegetables legumes in their diet.
These over intake of starching foods leads to over nutrition especially during pregnancy and lactating. They usually eat for two, pregnant woman for the unborn child and the lactating women for both the mother and the baby (breast feeding.) Excess of these food during pregnancy might lead to excessive weight gain and might have difficulty during labour for the pregnant woman. and cause complication such as caesian section, forceps delivery, vacuum extraction etc., prolong labour and loss of child (infant mortality). During breast feeding with consumption of starchy foods, without the food being balanced the child may suffer from anemia and a risk of obesity or develop kwashiorkor and marasmus and to extreme infant mortality. A lactating mother should be taught at post-natal clinic about the diet to be taken when breast feeding to prevent these complications.
Adolescent girls also take a lot of carbohydrate food which provide them with energy (Rice, cassava, potatoes, yams, sweets, candies, sugars and fatty foods may cause an increased weight. this doesn't mean that the child is growing faster, but it leads to obesity, diabetic, heart failure. At this stage they fail to take essential nutrient. There are also some adolescent at this stage who decides to check on their weight and they do not consume more food (dieting) but they prefare eating sour foods , Adult women are also in the habit of consuming a high percentage of energy foods, such as carbohydrates, sugars and fats and take less fibers and protein, fruit and vegetables in Sierra Leone Rice being the Staple food is being taken in larger quantities in the diet and as a result of consuming these food they suffer from diet related disease such as obesity, diabetic, hypertension, Skin disorders cardic ,failure and cancer and this lead to greater premature mortality (death) of most adult women.
Forceps delivery, and vacuum extraction. warrant that one should include both macro and Iron 8mg per day, the reasons are that they have decrease of iron in post-menopausal stage as compared with younger women.

Conclusion
Nutrition education is of paramount important for all stages of development of a woman, ranging from adolescent, pregnant, lactating, elderly and aged women. With nutrition education amongst women it will helps to eradicate diet related diseases amongst them such as obesity, Anemia hypertension, diabetic skin dieses etc. problem in giving birth, e.g.
caesian section, infant and maternal mortality. Africans relay on more of energy foods (stable food)mainly carbohydrates, foods saturated fats and sugar and less exercise. This education will help in healthy life styles of women.
Recommendation  Based on the conclusion the following recommendation were made.
 The ministry of health and sanitation train more nutritionist to be given health messages at ante natal clinics, post-natal clinics and outpatient department