Assessment of the nutritional status and dietary intake of women of childbearing age in the city of Comè, Benin

INTRODUCTION: over nutrition and undernutrition problems affect many women of childbearing age in Benin. The inadequacy of the diet is the major reason. The objective of this study is to assess their nutritional status and diet in Comè, a city with the highest proportions of adverse neonatal outcomes in the Mono regional department of Benin in 2015. METHODS: data were collected in June 2017 in a cross-sectional survey with a two-stage random sampling of non-pregnant or lactating women aged 15-49 years. Their sociodemographic characteristics, diet and nutritional status were reported and explored through descriptive and bivariate analysis. RESULTS: the prevalence of underweight was 9.5% and overweight (overweight and obese) was 31.7%. The dietary diversity score was low for 47.9% of them. Compared to the Recommended Dietary Allowances, the energy and protein intakes were insufficient for 78.7% and 11.8% respectively. None of them had an energy-balanced diet according to the energy distribution between macronutrients after normalization of intakes. The contribution of carbohydrates was high in 99.1%, low in 96.2% for fats and adequate in 60.2% for proteins. CONCLUSION: these results reiterate the importance of developing nutritional interventions to improve the nutritional status and the diet of women of childbearing age in Benin. Periodically national food surveys must be conducted to evaluate their real nutritional intakes and promote better nutrition.