Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Oct 23;20(20):6961.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph20206961.

Knowledge, Perception and Consumption of Indigenous Foods in Gauteng Region, South Africa

Hema Kesa  1   2 , Alex D Tchuenchieu Kamgain  1   3 , Mthokozisi Kwazi Zuma  2   4 , Xikombiso Mbhenyane  2
Affiliations

Knowledge, Perception and Consumption of Indigenous Foods in Gauteng Region, South Africa

Hema Kesa et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Urbanisation in South Africa has led to a nutritional transition from traditional diets (mainly based on indigenous foods) to a Western diet. Currently, the country is one of the most concerned about the prevalence of associated malnutrition and non-communicable diseases. One should, therefore, question the position of indigenous foods (IFs) in the population's eating habits since their nutritional and health value is known. This study aimed to collect updated data on South Africans' true awareness and consumption of indigenous foods, especially in the Gauteng region (the most urbanised province of the country). A quantitative cross-sectional research survey was conducted (n = 746). Among a list of 18 IFs, grain sorghum 32.4% (n = 242), marula 32% (n = 239), pearl millet 21.7% (n = 162), amadumbe 19.3% (n = 144) and cowpea 18.6% (n = 139) were the best known. However, the study noticed a maximum consumption of 19.3% (grain sorghum). Overall, this consumption was seasonal, and its level was significantly defined by race (p < 0.05). Black people consume more IFs compared to coloured people, Indian people and white people. Participants mostly consumed these foods for nutritional and health reasons and pointed out the problem of availability. "Poor image" was rated the lowest by all races (black 5.8%, coloured 4.2%, Indian 7.0% and white 4.1%) regarding the reasons for no or low consumption of IFs. Whatever the race, the desire to increase IF consumption was positive. The promotion of their integration into South African diets should, therefore, be considered as an intervention strategy.

Keywords: Gauteng Province; consumption; diet-related diseases; indigenous foods; public health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Desire to increase consumption of indigenous foods stratified by race. Gauteng province, South Africa, 2019.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Respondents’ motivation for consuming indigenous foods stratified by race. Gauteng province, South Africa, 2019.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Respondents’ reasons for no or low consumption of indigenous foods stratified by race. Gauteng province, South Africa, 2019.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Siegel K.R., Patel S.A., Ali M.K. Non-communicable diseases in South Asia: Contemporary Perspectives. Br. Med. Bull. 2014;111:31–44. doi: 10.1093/bmb/ldu018. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Reubi D., Herrick C., Brown T. The politics of non-communicable diseases in the Global South. Health Place. 2016;39:179–187. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2015.09.001. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bigna J.J., Noubiap J.J. The rising burden of non-communicable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. Lancet Glob. Health. 2019;7:e1295–e1296. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(19)30370-5. - DOI - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization Noncommunicable Diseases. World Health Organization. 2022. [(accessed on 7 August 2023)]. Available online: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/noncommunicable-diseases.
    1. Manderson L., Jewett S. Risk. Lifestyle and non-communicable diseases of poverty. Global. Health. 2023;19:13. doi: 10.1186/s12992-023-00914-z. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources