Relationship among Food Intake, Dietary Habit and Immunity among Different Age People in West African Countries during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Poor dietary habits are one of the leading risk factors associated with morbidity, mortality, and disability in the world. Different regions/continents of the world have different dietary patterns which are based on environmental, cultural, technological and socio-economic factors. However, due to urbanization, there has been a steady nutrition transition in many West African countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal from their traditional diet made up of traditional staple foods like maize, yam, cassava, plantain, cocoyam, beans, and nuts with vegetables as soups to Westernized diet made up majorly of processed pre-packaged foods which are energy-dense foods or high-fat diet especially among urban dwellers. This transition has in turn had a negative effect on the health and well-being of the populace which can be seen in terms of susceptibility to infection and severity of infection. West Africa has also been reported to have a prevalence of people suffering from malnutrition either due to over-nutrition (over-consumption of high caloric foods with little micronutrients) or under-nutrition (inadequate consumption of both energy and micronutrients) based on nutritional status. This review attempts to show the role of good dietary habits as a means of protecting against Covid-19 infection across different age groups in four major West African countries.