Assessment of fruit and vegetable consumption among female university students

Abstract

The low intake of fruits and vegetables is a global issue. This research aimed to determine the association of fruit and vegetable intake with waist circumference and barriers of intake. A total of 279 female students from the International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuantan, were recruited through convenience sampling and provided with a set of questionnaires to identify their fruits and vegetable intake. The waist circumference of respondents was measured. The majority of students consumed only one serving of fruit and vegetable per day, which is less than the levels recommended by the Malaysian Dietary Guideline. Only 9.0% of students had a fruits intake of two servings/day, while 6.5% had a vegetable intake of three servings/day which meets the recommendation. There was no significant association of fruits and vegetable intake with waist circumference among female students. Non-availability and not delicious were identified as major barriers to fruit and vegetable consumption respectively. In conclusion, the fruit and vegetable intake among the majority of female university students is inadequate. Thus, there is a need to increase awareness and develop strategies to promote adequate fruit and vegetable intake among this specific target group.

Trends in fruit and vegetables consumption among Malaysian adults, 2006-2019

“…An earlier study of 242 adults aged 18 and above in the state of Selangor reported an average consumption of FV of 173 grams per day, which was significantly lower than the recommended amount of 400 grams [19]. A more recent study by Ahmad Sirfan et al in a group of 279 young female students from a local public university revealed that approximately 87.8% of the respondents consumed fewer than 2 servings of fruits per day, while 93.6% consumed fewer than 3 servings of vegetables per day [20]. Another study by Eng and colleagues among 2,983 low-income adults residing in six low-cost flats in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur also showed that 89.5% of the respondents did not meet the recommended daily intake of FV [21].…”

Influencing Factors of a Sustainable Vegetable Choice. The Romanian Consumers’ Case

“…Some regional studies identified a series of common barriers for vegetable consumption, such as: the general dislike of taste [10,84], the considerable lack of time needed for shipping or cooking [10,21], picky children [10], high costs of purchasing sustainably produced vegetables [10,21], limited availability of fresh vegetables and high availability of other foods [21,84] for the healthy food categories, vegetables included, as one of the main barriers in front of their availability, an idea also supported by research [39]. Pocol et al [96] claim that young adults from Romania, Bulgaria, and Moldova need dietary education for developing a long-term sustainable food pattern and that gender is an important factor in choosing a sustainable diet.…”

“…Several authors promote a direct attitude towards the need for a shift in the global dietary patterns [5,8,21,22,84], stating the obvious, namely: the low intake of fruits and vegetables and the high intake of meat can lead to chronic diseases. Additionally, through their studies, they propose alternatives to the current consumption patterns.…”

Vegetable Consumption and Cooking Skills Among University Students

“…Nearly 63% of university students have unhealthy eating habits, including low intake of fruits, vegetables, fish, whole grains, and legumes (4). Many studies reported that students do not follow the dietary standards' healthy eating recommendations as suggested by experts (5).…”