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

Judith Nmor; Kehi Harry Nwaka; Jephtha Christopher Nmor

doi:doi:10.11648/j.sjph.20140201.14

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

Judith Nmor, Kehi Harry Nwaka, Jephtha Christopher Nmor

Published in Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 2, Issue 1)

Received: 17 November 2013 Accepted: Published: 20 December 2013

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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), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

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

References

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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

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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

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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

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@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}
}

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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 -

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Author Information

Judith Nmor

Department of Nutrition Sciences, Siebold University, Nagasaki, Japan (formerly)
Kehi Harry Nwaka

Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria
Jephtha Christopher Nmor

Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria; National Mental Support Center for School Crisis, Osaka Kyoiku University, Osaka, Japan

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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

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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

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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

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@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}
}

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