Maize food group in the energy diets structure of mothers of native maize producers households in two communities in central Mexico

• Main Authors: Mayra E. Moreno-Flores, Ivonne Vizcarra-Bordi, Alejandra D. Benítez-Arciniega, Cristina Chávez-Mejía
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Academia Española de Nutrición y Dietética 2014-06-01
• Series: Revista Española de Nutrición Humana y Dietética
• Subjects: Zea Mays; Maíz; Hábitos alimentarios; Encuesta dietética; Ingesta de alimentos; Ingesta energética; Modificación dietética; México; Población Rural; Madres
• Online Access: http://renhyd.org/index.php/renhyd/article/view/44

<p><strong>Introduction:</strong> To analyse the importance of Maize Food Group (MFG) consumption by mothers of native maize households producers.</p><p><strong>Material and methods:</strong> It is the case of a descriptive, comparative, transversal and prospective study of two communities of the State of Mexico. Santa María Nativitas (SMN) is a mestizo and peri-urban community and San Jerónimo Mavatí (SJM) is an indigenous community. The selection of mothers to be studied was by convenience (40 women in SMN and 40 women in SJM). Interviews were used for application of food frequency questionnaires to record 24 hours food intake. Descriptive statistics and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for normal distribution of the data was performed. Data were analysed using parametric statistics (Student’s t distribution and principal component analysis).</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> Mothers from SMN consume 3,999.93 Kcal/day from which 20% are from the MFG; while Mothers from SJM consume 2,566.67 Kcal from which 33.8% are from the MFG. There is not a significant difference between SMN and SJM regarding MFG consumption, but there is with respect to other food products like cereals, sweeteners, legumes and fruits.</p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> In both communities there was a change on mothers´ diet; more carbohydrates from cereals and sweet drinks are consumed. This change on diet has health consequences and impacts on maize diversity conservation, as the main source of food in rural communities, and foremost, on food security for agricultural communities.</p>