ABSTRACT

University is a critical period regarding unhealthy changes in eating behaviours of students. Many food preferences are established early, but because people make more and more independent eating decisions as they move through adolescence, the transition to independents living during the university days is an important events. Students need more nutrient intake as they require an additional food intake due to academics and various activities on campus. Dietary intake and nutrition behaviours at this period of life influence lifelong eating habits and contribute to the development of risk factors for disease in adulthood, identification of the reasons behind food consumption could help to reduce the burden of several disease. The purpose of this study therefore was to explore the factors that influence consumption of food by some undergraduate study in Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to collected data from the students. In total, 432 university students (206 males and 229 females) from varied study disciplines were given a questionnaire comprising of three major Section: (1) socio-economic characteristics, (2) food consumption pattern, (3) food frequency table, (4) 24 hours dietary recall. The collected data was coded and analyzed using computer Software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) windows version 22.0. The respondents choice of food were influenced by availability of the food as reported by majority (49.5%) of the students while 22.5% of them reported that their food choice is influenced by economic factors, while educational influences affect the food choice of 6.9% of the students. Also their high consumption of vegetables can be accounted for as a result of its availability as reported by majority (46.3%) of the students and 27.1% reported that the reason for consuming more of their choice of vegetables is because of its affordability. The result further revealed that the student’s choice of fruit is however, as a result availability as reported by majority (38.0%) of the students. In the same vein, 33.6% said affordability of the fruit is the main reason for the choice of fruit. The data provided a rich descriptive data regarding multi-level factors influencing undergraduate’s food choices such as availability and accessibility, appeal and prices of food products, however majority of the students reported to be mostly influenced by the availability and affordability of foods. Throughout adulthood, the importance of good eating habits cannot be over emphasized; hence the need for nutritional welfare of the undergraduates must be recommended and forward to the federal government of Nigeria.