Open AccessEATING HABIT AND NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF A NIGERIAN PRIVATE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Author(s) -
I. F. Ani,
Y. I. Eboka,
Beatrice Adeoye,
E. O. Ngozi,
N. C. Ajuzie
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of humanities social science and creative arts
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2315-747X
DOI - 10.51406/jhssca.v13i1.1927
Subject(s) - snacking , overweight , habit , environmental health , obesity , medicine , consumption (sociology) , calorie , demography , psychology , social science , sociology , psychotherapist , endocrinology
The study aimed at determining the eating habit and nutritional status of Babcock university undergraduate students. Multiple stage random technique and systematic sampling was used to select 288 respondents and a structured questionnaire was used to elicit information on the socio-demographic data and eating habit. The BMI of the respondents was determined using weight and height squared and the 24- hour dietary recall was analyzed using Total Dietary Assessment software. The relationship between eating habit and nutritional status was determined using Chi- square. Most of the respondents in the study were between 18-21 years (73.6 %) consisting of 45.6 % male and 53.7 % female. The respondents (54.8 %) consumed two meals in a day, 63.9 % eats in response to hunger while others eat due to different factors. Consumption of fruits and vegetables was poor as only 17.0 % and 14.9 % consumed fruits and vegetable daily. Many of the respondents consume snack regularly (85.4 %) with 33.7 % consuming in- between meals and 14.2 % snacking late in the night. Prevalence of overweight and obesity was high among the respondents as 30.4 % were overweight and 27.1 % were obese. Mean calorie intake and % RDA being 3223.04± 687.66 and 111.14 for males and 2429.45 ± 243.14 and 110.43 for females. Frequency of consumption, snacking, period of snacking, soft drink consumption and, poor fruit and vegetable consumption all had significant (P< 0.05) effect on the nutritional status.