EATING HABITS AND PERCEIVED HEALTH CONSEQUENCES AMONG UNDERGRADUATES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, OYO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

An understanding of the pattern of eating habits of undergraduates is important, as it could be protective or predictive to chronic diseases. So also is the identification of the factors affecting food choice, including their perception of the consequences of unhealthy eating habit, and their sources of nutrition information. The study aimed at assessing the eating habit and perceived health consequences of eating habits among University of Ibadan undergraduates. A cross-sectional survey including 405 undergraduates of the University of Ibadan was conducted. The Faculties were stratified and one-third of the Faculties in each stratum were randomly selected. Likewise, a third of departments in each selected faculty were randomly selected and proportionate number of students was drawn from each department. Pre-tested and validated semi-structured self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the eating habits and its factors, perceived health consequences and source of nutrition information. Perception of the health consequences of eating habit was assessed on a 42- point scale and scores ≥22 were regarded as good. Descriptive statistics and Chisquare test were used to analyse the collected data at 0.05 level of significance. Respondents' ages were from 16.0 to 41.0 years; with mean age of 20.0±7.7 years and 58.3% were female. Most represented ethnicity was Yoruba (75.3%), 88.4% were Christians while 10.6% were Muslims. The highest proportions were found in Sciencebased Faculties (47.4%), and 300 level, while 72.6% lived on campus. Most (36.0%) of those with heath problem had ulcer. Breakfast (60.0%) was the most widely skipped meal and snacks (79.6%) were mostly consumed in between meals. A large proportion (43.3%) had breakfast as their lightest meal, 36.5% ate breakfast before the day’s work, 72.7% had lunch after 2p.m. or any time in the afternoon, while 57.1% ate dinner between 6-9p.m. Almost half (49.9%) ate out at least three a week. Vegetables and fruits were consumed daily by 8.1% and 8.7% of participants, respectively. Cereal (79.5%) constituted the bulk of daily meals, and only 16.8% drank eight or more glasses of water daily. Friends influenced what some (39.0%) of the respondents ate; fear of gaining weight affected what 34.3% of them ate, 21.7% avoided food for religious purpose, and appetite determined what 73.6% of them ate. Lecture schedule prevented 69.7% from eating meals regularly,

and appetite and affordability were mentioned by majority as the major determinants of what they ate. Majority (92.6%) of the participants rightly perceived the health consequences of eating habit and had positive score grade. A significant association was found between frequency of eating out and sex, and lecture schedule and time of lunch consumption. Despite high good perception of health consequences of eating habits, few of the respondents indulged in healthy eating. Daily consumption of fruits and vegetables was low and majority skipped breakfast, while many took less than the daily water requirement. There is therefore the need for nutrition education to promote healthy eating among the undergraduates.