| Peer-Reviewed

Eating Behaviours of University Students in Southern Nigeria: An Evaluation of Sex Differences

Received: 17 November 2013     Published: 20 December 2013
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

University students besides been the future nation builders, also represent the most viable population for education in the field of healthy lifestyles and eating habits. Although, eating habits are major determinate of health status, the eating habits of university students in Southern Nigeria has not been well documented. We aim to investigate their eating habits and sex difference with the view that our findings will be useful in developing adequate nutrition education. The participants, 108 students (48.2% male and 51.9% female), aged 24.1±4.1 filled out a self-reported questionnaire. Height and weight measurement were obtained. Eating habits, frequency of food intake, eating attitudes and fat-related dietary habits were reported. Our data showed that the majority of the students (52.8%) were of normal weight (male 51.9% compared to female 53.6%). The overall prevalence of overweight (obese inclusive) was 40.4% for male and 35.7% for female. In terms of meal consumption frequency, students showed fairly good eating habits. There was no significant sex difference in the frequency of meal intake. Smoking was not common habit among students. Male students had significant lower means scores for modify meat to be low in fat and substitute high fat product with low fat. The correlation analysis of UPI subscale and eating attitude factors revealed some sex variations. For instance, eating attitude factors of F1 and F3 were positively associated with stress and dieting among male students but not for female students while UPI total, depression, anxiety and obsession was significantly related with hours of sleep per night for female but not for male students. Thus, patterns of association suggest a modulating effect of sex on eating behaviors. Efforts aimed at modifying unhealthy eating habits may benefit from a tailored approach, which takes into account individual differences in these factors.

Published in Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 2, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.14
Page(s) 23-37
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2013. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Eating Behavior, Body Mass Index, Sex-Differences, Fat-Related Habits, University Students, Nigeria

References
[1] World Health Organization (WHO). Obesity and overweight. World Health Organization, 2012. http://www. who. int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/ (accessed last on October 9, 2013).
[2] Cavalli-Soforza LT, Rosman A, de BoerAS, Darnton-Hill I. Nutritionalaspects of changes in disease patters in Western Pacific region. Bull. World HealthOrgan. 1996, 74(3), 307-318.
[3] Drewnowski A, Popkin BM. The nutrition transition: trends in the globaldiet. Nutritional Reviews, 1997, 55(2), 31-43.
[4] Triches RM, Giugliani RJ. Obesity, eating habits and nutritional knowledgeamong school children. Rev SaủdePủblica, 2005, 39(4), 1-7.
[5] Chourdakis M, Tzellos T, Papazisis G, Toulis K, KouvelasD. Eating habits, health attitudes and obesity indices among medical students in northern Greece. Appetite, 2010; 55(3):722-725.
[6] Li R, Serdula M, Bland S, Mokdad A, Bowman B, NelsonD. Trends in fruit and vegetable consumption among adults in 16 US states: behavioral risk factor surveillance system, 1990-1996. Ame. J. Public Health, 2000, 90(5), 777-781.
[7] Liebman M, CameronBA, Carson DK, Brown DM, Meyer SS. Dietary fat reductionbehaviors in college students: relationship to dieting status, gender and key psychosocial variables. Appetite, 2001, 36, 51-56.
[8] Wardle, J. ; Haase, A. M. ; Steptoe, A. ; Nillapun, M. ; Jonwutiwes, K. ; Bellisle, F. Gender differences in food choice: the contribution of health beliefs and dieting. Annalsof Behavioral Med. 2004, 27(2), 107-16.
[9] Yahia N, Achkar A, Abdallah A, RizkS. Eating habits and obesity among Lebanese university students. Nutr. J. 2008, 7: 32.
[10] Osaka R, Nanakorn S, Sanseeha L, Nagahiro C, Kodama N. Healthy dietary habits, body mass index, and predictors among nursing students, northeast Thailand. Southeast Asian J. Tropical Med. Public Health, 1999, 30(1), 115-121.
[11] Sakamaki R, Amamoto R, Mochida Y, Shinfuku N, Toyama K. A comparative study of food habits and body shape perception of university students in Japan and Korea. Nutr. J. 2005, 4, 31.
[12] Malinauskas BM, Raedeke TD, Aeby VG, Smith JL, Dallas MB. Dieting practices, weight perceptions, and body composition: a comparison of normal weight, overweight, and obese college females. Nutr. J. 2006, 5, 11.
[13] Kim H, Han SN, SongK, Lee H. Lifestyle, dietary habits and consumption pattern of male university students according to the frequency of commercial beverage consumptions. Nutr. Research Practice, 2011, 5(2), 124-131.
[14] Tominaga M, Taguchi M, Suzuki A, Ikawa Y, Youn H, Cho K, Scherling J, Roth R. Differences in self-assessment regarding eating behaviors among female university students living in Japan, Korea, and Austria. Food Nutr. Sciences, 2012, 3, 1673-1681.
[15] Gan WY, Mohd NM, Zalilah MS, Hazizi AS. Differences in eating behaviors, dietary intake and body weight status between male and female Malaysian university students. Malaysian J. Nutr, 2011, 17(2), 213-228.
[16] Tominaga M, Suzuki A, Taguchi M, Takemoto H, Yoon H, Cho K, Ikawa Y. Comparative study of eating habits of university students in Japan and Korea. J. for the Integrated Study of Dietary habits, 2009, 20(2), 111-120.
[17] Kristal AR, Shattuck AL, Patterson RE. Differences in fat-related dietary patterns between black Hispanic, and white women results from the women’s health trial feasibility study in minority populations. Public Health Nutr. 1999, 2(3), 253-262.
[18] Neuhouser ML, Thompson B, Coronado GD, Solomon CC. Higher fat intake and lower fruit and vegetable intakes are associated with greater acculturation among Mexicans living in Washington State. J. Ame Dietetic Association, 2004, 104, 51-57.
[19] Melnik TA, Spence MM, Hosler AS. Fat-related dietary behaviors of adult Puerto Ricans, with and without diabetes, in New York City. J. Ame Dietetic association, 2006, 106(9), 1419-1425.
[20] Yoshida T, Ichikawa T, Ishikawa T, Hori M. Mental health of visually and hearing impaired students from the viewpoint of the University Personality Inventory. Psychiatry and Clin. Neurosciences, 1998, 52(4), 413-418.
[21] Nnanyelugo DO, Okeke EC. Food habits and nutrient intakes of Nigerian university students in traditional halls of residence. J. Ame College Nutr, 1987, 6(5), 369-374.
[22] Olusanya JO, Omotayo AO. Prevalence of Obesity among undergraduate students of Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, Ijebu-Ode. Pakistan J. Nutr. 2011, 10 (10), 940-946.
[23] Olaoye OR, Oyetunde OO. Perception of weight and weight management practices among students of a tertiary institution in south west NigeriaJ. Applied Pharm. Science, 2012, 2(1), 81-84.
[24] Al-Isa AN. Obesity among Kuwait university students: an explorative study. The J. the Royal Soc. for the Promotion of Health, 1999, 119(4), 223-227.
[25] Musaiger AO, Lloyd OL, Al-Neyadi SM, Bener AB. Lifestyle factors associated with obesity among male university students in the United Arab Emirates. Nutr. Food Science, 2003, 33(4), 145-147.
[26] Wahab KW, Sani MU, Yusuf BO, Gbadamosi M, Gbadamosi A, Yandutse M. Prevalence and determinants of obesity - a cross-sectional study of an adult Northern Nigerian population. International Archives of Med. 2011, 4, 10.
[27] Al-Rethaiaa AS, Fahmy AA, Al-Shwaiyat NM. Obesity and eating habits among college students in Saudi Arabia: a cross sectional study. Nutr J. 2010, 9, 39.
[28] Abdull Hakim, NH. Muniandy ND. Danish, A. Nutritional status and eating practices among university students in selected universities in Selangor, Malaysia. Asian J. Clinical Nutr. 2012, 41(3), 77-87.
[29] Sakamaki R, Toyama K, Amamoto R, Liu C, Shinfuku N. Nutritional knowledge, food habits and health attitude of Chinese university students-a cross sectional study. Nutr. J. 2005, 4, 4.
[30] Corder K, van Sluijs, EMF, Steele RM, Stephen AM. Dunn V, Bamber D, Ekelund U. Breakfast consumption and physical activity in British adolescents. British J. Nutr. 2011, 105(2), 316.
[31] Steptoe A, Wardle J, Cui W, Bellisle F, Zotti AM, BaranyaiR, Sanderman R. Trends in smoking, diet, physical exercise, and attitudes toward health in European university students from 13 countries, 1990-2000. Preventive Medicine, 2002, 35, 97-104.
[32] Ban DJ, Lee TJ. Sleep duration, subjective sleep disturbances and associated factors among university students in Korea. J. Korean Med. Science, 2001, 16(4), 475-80.
[33] Tsui YY, Wing YK. A study on the sleep patterns and problems of university business students in Hong Kong. J. Ame. College Health, 2009, 58(2), 167-176.
[34] Méndez-Hernández P, Dosamantes-Carrasco D, Lamure M, López-Loyo P, Hernández-Palafox C, Pineda-Pérez D, Flores Y, Salmerón J. Weight-loss practices among university students in Mexico. Inter. J. Public Health, 2010, 55(3). 221-225.
[35] Yannakoulia M, Karayiannis D, Terzidou M, Kokkevi A, Sidossis LS. Nutrition-related habits of Greek adolescents. Euro J. Clinical Med. Nutr. 2004, 58(4), 580-586.
[36] Field AE, Cheung L, Wolf AM, Herzog DB, Gortmaker SL, Colditz, GA. Exposure to the mass media and weight concerns among girls. Pediatrics, 1999, 103(3), 36.
[37] Canetti L, Bachar E, Berry EM. Food and emotion. Behavioral Processes, 2002, 60, 157-164.
[38] Turner SA, Luszczynska A, Warner L, Schwarzer R. Emotional and uncontrolled eating styles and chocolate chip cookie consumption. A controlled trial of the effects of positive mood enhancement. Appetite, 2010, 54, 143-149.
[39] Tice DM, Bratslavsky E. Giving in to feel good: the place of emotional regulation in the context of general self-control. Psychological Inquiry, 2000, 11, 149-159.
[40] Blair EH, Seo DC, Torabi MR. , Kaldahl MA. Safety beliefs and safe behavior among mid-western college students. J. Safety Research, 2004, 35(2), 131-140.
[41] Di Noia J, Contento IR, Schinke SP. Fat avoidance and replacement behaviors predict low-fat intake among urban African American adolescents. Nutr. Research, 2008, 28(6), 358-363.
[42] Gans KM, Burkholder GJ, Risica PM, Lasater TM. Baseline fat-related dietary behaviors of White, Hispanic, and Black participants in a cholesterol screening and education project in New England. J. Ame. Dietetic Association, 2003, 103, 699-706.
[43] Tominaga M, Shimizu M, Mori T, Kodama K, Sato K. Relationship between life style focusing on eating habits and mental health of junior and high school students, and university students. J. Home Economics of Japan, 2001, 52(6), 499-510.
[44] Ouwens M A, VanStrien T, Van Leeuwe, JFJ. Possible pathways between depression, emotional and external eating a structural equation model. Appetite, 2009, 53(2), 245-248.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Judith Nmor, Kehi Harry Nwaka, Jephtha Christopher Nmor. (2013). Eating Behaviours of University Students in Southern Nigeria: An Evaluation of Sex Differences. Science Journal of Public Health, 2(1), 23-37. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.14

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Judith Nmor; Kehi Harry Nwaka; Jephtha Christopher Nmor. Eating Behaviours of University Students in Southern Nigeria: An Evaluation of Sex Differences. Sci. J. Public Health 2013, 2(1), 23-37. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.14

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Judith Nmor, Kehi Harry Nwaka, Jephtha Christopher Nmor. Eating Behaviours of University Students in Southern Nigeria: An Evaluation of Sex Differences. Sci J Public Health. 2013;2(1):23-37. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.14

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.14,
      author = {Judith Nmor and Kehi Harry Nwaka and Jephtha Christopher Nmor},
      title = {Eating Behaviours of University Students in Southern Nigeria: An Evaluation of Sex Differences},
      journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
      volume = {2},
      number = {1},
      pages = {23-37},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20140201.14},
      abstract = {University students besides been the future nation builders, also represent the most viable population for education in the field of healthy lifestyles and eating habits. Although, eating habits are major determinate of health status, the eating habits of university students in Southern Nigeria has not been well documented. We aim to investigate their eating habits and sex difference with the view that our findings will be useful in developing adequate nutrition education. The participants, 108 students (48.2% male and 51.9% female), aged 24.1±4.1 filled out a self-reported questionnaire. Height and weight measurement were obtained. Eating habits, frequency of food intake, eating attitudes and fat-related dietary habits were reported.  Our data showed that the majority of the students (52.8%) were of normal weight (male 51.9% compared to female 53.6%). The overall prevalence of overweight (obese inclusive) was 40.4% for male and 35.7% for female. In terms of meal consumption frequency, students showed fairly good eating habits. There was no significant sex difference in the frequency of meal intake. Smoking was not common habit among students. Male students had significant lower means scores for modify meat to be low in fat and substitute high fat product with low fat. The correlation analysis of UPI subscale and eating attitude factors revealed some sex variations. For instance, eating attitude factors of F1 and F3 were positively associated with stress and dieting among male students but not for female students while UPI total, depression, anxiety and obsession was significantly related with hours of sleep per night for female but not for male students. Thus, patterns of association suggest a modulating effect of sex on eating behaviors. Efforts aimed at modifying unhealthy eating habits may benefit from a tailored approach, which takes into account individual differences in these factors.},
     year = {2013}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Eating Behaviours of University Students in Southern Nigeria: An Evaluation of Sex Differences
    AU  - Judith Nmor
    AU  - Kehi Harry Nwaka
    AU  - Jephtha Christopher Nmor
    Y1  - 2013/12/20
    PY  - 2013
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.14
    T2  - Science Journal of Public Health
    JF  - Science Journal of Public Health
    JO  - Science Journal of Public Health
    SP  - 23
    EP  - 37
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-7950
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.14
    AB  - University students besides been the future nation builders, also represent the most viable population for education in the field of healthy lifestyles and eating habits. Although, eating habits are major determinate of health status, the eating habits of university students in Southern Nigeria has not been well documented. We aim to investigate their eating habits and sex difference with the view that our findings will be useful in developing adequate nutrition education. The participants, 108 students (48.2% male and 51.9% female), aged 24.1±4.1 filled out a self-reported questionnaire. Height and weight measurement were obtained. Eating habits, frequency of food intake, eating attitudes and fat-related dietary habits were reported.  Our data showed that the majority of the students (52.8%) were of normal weight (male 51.9% compared to female 53.6%). The overall prevalence of overweight (obese inclusive) was 40.4% for male and 35.7% for female. In terms of meal consumption frequency, students showed fairly good eating habits. There was no significant sex difference in the frequency of meal intake. Smoking was not common habit among students. Male students had significant lower means scores for modify meat to be low in fat and substitute high fat product with low fat. The correlation analysis of UPI subscale and eating attitude factors revealed some sex variations. For instance, eating attitude factors of F1 and F3 were positively associated with stress and dieting among male students but not for female students while UPI total, depression, anxiety and obsession was significantly related with hours of sleep per night for female but not for male students. Thus, patterns of association suggest a modulating effect of sex on eating behaviors. Efforts aimed at modifying unhealthy eating habits may benefit from a tailored approach, which takes into account individual differences in these factors.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Department of Nutrition Sciences, Siebold University, Nagasaki, Japan (formerly)

  • Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria

  • Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria

  • Sections