Geophagic practice in Mashau Village, Limpopo Province, South Africa
Large quantities of earth materials are consumed daily in Mashau Village; nonetheless, this practice had not been studied. Furthermore, the motivations for this geophagic behaviour in the study area were unclear. Thus, questionnaires were distributed to 200 participants in the study area with the ai...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844021006022 |
| _version_ | 1818947023771009024 |
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| author | Unarine Mashao Georges-Ivo Ekosse John Odiyo Nenita Bukalo |
| author_facet | Unarine Mashao Georges-Ivo Ekosse John Odiyo Nenita Bukalo |
| author_sort | Unarine Mashao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Large quantities of earth materials are consumed daily in Mashau Village; nonetheless, this practice had not been studied. Furthermore, the motivations for this geophagic behaviour in the study area were unclear. Thus, questionnaires were distributed to 200 participants in the study area with the aim of generating data on the motivations of and potential medical conditions associated to this practice. About 91% of the participants were geophagists, of which 98.5% were female. Craving was found to be the main reason (73.9%) why people of the Mashau communities consume soil. The majority of the geophagists in Mashau craved for the soil upon seeing it (31.2%), during pregnancy (22.5%) and when experiencing sleeplessness (21%). About 60% of the geophagists had chronic illnesses, and they were diagnosed with headaches (31.6%), low haemoglobin level (29.9%), constipation (18.8%), iron deficiency (12.0%) and high blood pressure (7.7%). There is a concern that the soil from the study area may be adversely affecting individuals ingesting these soils. Since females mostly reported practicing geophagia, counselling and education of women and girls would be a useful public health measure. Soil characterisation and beneficiation for healthy geophagic practices should also be carried out at Mashau Village. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T08:24:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9f2ec8ef106f4d1d98fe9fbe8e5644d6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T08:24:19Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj.art-9f2ec8ef106f4d1d98fe9fbe8e5644d62022-12-21T19:46:54ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402021-03-0173e06497Geophagic practice in Mashau Village, Limpopo Province, South AfricaUnarine Mashao0Georges-Ivo Ekosse1John Odiyo2Nenita Bukalo3School of Environmental Sciences, University of Venda, Private Bag X5050, Thohoyandou 0950, Limpopo Province, South AfricaDirectorate of Research and Innovation, University of Venda, Private Bag X5050, Thohoyandou 0950, Limpopo Province, South AfricaSchool of Environmental Sciences, University of Venda, Private Bag X5050, Thohoyandou 0950, Limpopo Province, South AfricaSchool of Environmental Sciences, University of Venda, Private Bag X5050, Thohoyandou 0950, Limpopo Province, South Africa; Corresponding author.Large quantities of earth materials are consumed daily in Mashau Village; nonetheless, this practice had not been studied. Furthermore, the motivations for this geophagic behaviour in the study area were unclear. Thus, questionnaires were distributed to 200 participants in the study area with the aim of generating data on the motivations of and potential medical conditions associated to this practice. About 91% of the participants were geophagists, of which 98.5% were female. Craving was found to be the main reason (73.9%) why people of the Mashau communities consume soil. The majority of the geophagists in Mashau craved for the soil upon seeing it (31.2%), during pregnancy (22.5%) and when experiencing sleeplessness (21%). About 60% of the geophagists had chronic illnesses, and they were diagnosed with headaches (31.6%), low haemoglobin level (29.9%), constipation (18.8%), iron deficiency (12.0%) and high blood pressure (7.7%). There is a concern that the soil from the study area may be adversely affecting individuals ingesting these soils. Since females mostly reported practicing geophagia, counselling and education of women and girls would be a useful public health measure. Soil characterisation and beneficiation for healthy geophagic practices should also be carried out at Mashau Village.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844021006022CravingGeophagiaGeophagistsMashau villageMedical conditions |
| spellingShingle | Unarine Mashao Georges-Ivo Ekosse John Odiyo Nenita Bukalo Geophagic practice in Mashau Village, Limpopo Province, South Africa Heliyon Craving Geophagia Geophagists Mashau village Medical conditions |
| title | Geophagic practice in Mashau Village, Limpopo Province, South Africa |
| title_full | Geophagic practice in Mashau Village, Limpopo Province, South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Geophagic practice in Mashau Village, Limpopo Province, South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Geophagic practice in Mashau Village, Limpopo Province, South Africa |
| title_short | Geophagic practice in Mashau Village, Limpopo Province, South Africa |
| title_sort | geophagic practice in mashau village limpopo province south africa |
| topic | Craving Geophagia Geophagists Mashau village Medical conditions |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844021006022 |
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