ABSTRACT

This study assessed the knowledge, perception, attitude, and consumption pattern of non nutritive sweeteners (NNS) among undergraduates of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umuahia, Abia State. A cross-sectional study of 391 undergraduate students of Michael Okpara university of Agriculture, Umudike. Data on knowledge, attitude and perception of the students was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Knowledge was classified as poor knowledge, fair knowledge, and good knowledge. Attitude was classified as negative (<50%), neutral (50-70%), and positive (>70%), while perception was classified as low awareness (<50%), moderate awareness (50-70%), and high awareness (>70%).  Descriptive statistics were used to compile the data collected. Data were presented using frequencies and percentages. Chi-square test was used to assess the factors associated with the consumption of non nutritive sweeteners. The level of significance was set at the (≤ 0.05). About half of the students [n = 391 (59.6%)] had poor knowledge of non nutritive sweeteners, (26.3%) had fair knowledge, and only (14.1%) had good knowledge. Attitude towards non nutritive sweetener was classified as negative attitude (<50%), neutral attitude (50-70%), and positive attitude (>70%). For the perception of non nutritive sweeteners, the students [n = 391 (66.5%)] had high awareness of non nutritive sweeteners, (20.5%) had moderate awareness, while (13.0%) had low awareness. Below half of the students (41.9%) had neutral attitude towards non nutritive sweeteners, (33.8%) had negative attitude, while (24.3%) had positive attitude towards non nutritive sweeteners.  The food product containing non nutritive sweetener which had the highest daily consumption by the students, were cocoa products (28.9%), carbonated drinks (23.3%), milk (24%), cereal (16.1%), and biscuits (20.2%). The factors associated with the attitude were age and present disease condition of the university students. While parental marital status was associated with perception towards NNS (p<0.05). This study found that a large portion of university students consumed non-nutritive sweeteners. The majority of students did not know that non-nutritive sweeteners decreases tooth decay, but were aware that non-nutritive sweeteners does not possess  any cancer risk, and that it contains less calories compared to sugars. Food manufacturers should label each food product appropriately, listing out the types of non-nutritive sweetener contained in the food for easy identification and improvement of consumer’s food choice.