ABSTRACT
Adolescence
is one of the fastest growth periods of a person's life. As a result of the
physical, psychological, hormonal, cognitive and social transformation changes
that occur during this growth period, the body’s nutritional needs, eating
habits and food choices fluctuate. The study assessed the food waste and eating
behavior among adolescent in Umuahia metropolis. Six objectives were formulated
to guide the study. The
study employed a descriptive and cross-sectional study design. The target
population for this study were adolescent in Umuahia metropolis Abia State. A multi-staged
sampling technique was used to select 261 adolescents from Umuahia metropolis. The
data for the study were collected with the aid of a structured questionnaire
while the anthropometric data were collected using height and weight, measurements. Descriptive
statistics of frequency, percentage and mean was used to analyze the socio-demographic
characteristics. Food waste and eating behavior of the adolescents while
Pearson correlation was used to determine the relationship between food waste and
eating behavior among adolescents. This result from this study revealed most of
the adolescents are male (63.6%) and 60.2% ranged between the ages of 16 – 18
years, most of the adolescents in the study area came out from a nuclear family
(90.8%) and (72.8%) lived with parents, also (47.5%) eats with family member.
Majority of the respondents in the study area had fathers whose major
occupation are civil servant, where (26.1%) fathers monthly income was above N 110,000 and (32.2%) mothers are farmers
while (55.2%) had a monthly income of N 20,000
– N 50,000. The relationship between
adolescent eating behavior and food wastage was found to conform to a priori
expectation. This implies that if meals are skipped total food wastage will
increase by 0.20%, and if meals are eaten less than usual total food wastage
will increase by 0.42%, refusal to eat food at first glance results to a total
food wastage of 0.34%. The study therefore concludes that behavior of
adolescents in the study area leads to food wastage. Base on the findings,
recommendations where made that food industry and their advertising partners
should cooperate with other institutions and sectors such as schools and health
sectors, to control the types and quantities of products they produce and
market.
UKOHA, M (2024). Food Waste And Eating Behavior Among Adolescents In Umuahia Metropolis:- Ukoha Chidiebube M. Mouau.afribary.org: Retrieved Dec 24, 2024, from https://repository.mouau.edu.ng/work/view/food-waste-and-eating-behavior-among-adolescents-in-umuahia-metropolis-ukoha-chidiebube-m-7-2
MARILYN, UKOHA. "Food Waste And Eating Behavior Among Adolescents In Umuahia Metropolis:- Ukoha Chidiebube M" Mouau.afribary.org. Mouau.afribary.org, 11 Sep. 2024, https://repository.mouau.edu.ng/work/view/food-waste-and-eating-behavior-among-adolescents-in-umuahia-metropolis-ukoha-chidiebube-m-7-2. Accessed 24 Dec. 2024.
MARILYN, UKOHA. "Food Waste And Eating Behavior Among Adolescents In Umuahia Metropolis:- Ukoha Chidiebube M". Mouau.afribary.org, Mouau.afribary.org, 11 Sep. 2024. Web. 24 Dec. 2024. < https://repository.mouau.edu.ng/work/view/food-waste-and-eating-behavior-among-adolescents-in-umuahia-metropolis-ukoha-chidiebube-m-7-2 >.
MARILYN, UKOHA. "Food Waste And Eating Behavior Among Adolescents In Umuahia Metropolis:- Ukoha Chidiebube M" Mouau.afribary.org (2024). Accessed 24 Dec. 2024. https://repository.mouau.edu.ng/work/view/food-waste-and-eating-behavior-among-adolescents-in-umuahia-metropolis-ukoha-chidiebube-m-7-2