ABSTRACT

The study was designed to determine the food consumption pattern and nutritional status of Okada riders in Ikwuano L.G.A. A total of 440 respondents were selected using simple random sampling technique but 375 distributed questionnaires were retrieved and analyzed.  Age status of the respondents showed that most of them were 21-26 (20.8%), 27-32 (46.9%) and 33-38 (23.5%), 39-44 (6.4%), >44 (2.4%) years of age. There were more single (81.9%) than married (17.3%) respondents. Family size status of the respondents’ household revealed that most of them were either 4-6 (45.3%) or 7-9 (32.3%) in number. More than half (52.5%) of the respondents had secondary education while the rest of them were either primary school leavers (27.2%) or graduates from tertiary institutions (17.6%).  Half (50.9%) of the ‘Okada Riders’ acquired their motorcycles on hire purchase basis while a good number (28.3%) of them fully purchased the item. The respondents fully purchased the motorcycle at N141, 000-N160, 000 (27.2%) while hire purchases basis did cost between N196, 000- N200, 000. About three-quarter of the okada riders spent below N5, 000 monthly on Okada maintenance. However no form of remittance was made to the government by the respondents. Most (66.6%) of the respondents consumed foods twice daily while a good number (24.3%) of them ate once daily. Also more respondents claimed to eat enough of each meal than those who did not (70.1% vs 29.9%). Results on meal skipping showed that quite a good number (24.3%) of them skipped breakfast (14.3%), lunch (9.6%) or dinner (1.3%). Also, results revealed that some of the respondents ate only when hungry (39.2%) or less busy (32.3%). Eating out was found to be familiar with the respondents as results showed that percentage of okada riders that normally ate out (62.4%) was greater than those respondents accustomed to eating home meals (37.6%).  Garri and soup (53.9%), rice and beans (10%) were found to be the respondents’ favorite foods. These foods were preferred by the respondents because they gave them energy to work (32.5%), highly nutritious (20.3%) and affordable (27.0%). A plate of food was obtained at the cost of N160-N200 (46.4%) or N210-N250 (38.4%). The respondents either ate normal (46.7%) or more (42.7%) when stressed. The results on the respondents lifestyle practices was characterized by regular (>3x) alcohol consumption (64.2%) and low cigarette intake. Results on the nutritional status revealed that the majority (91.4% and 96.8%) of the respondent’s nutritional status were classified normal using Body mass Index and WHR status respectively.