Dietary Patterns, Nutritional Knowledge and Status of Adolescents in Lagos, Nigeria.

Abstract

Background Adolescents in low-and middle-income countries, such as Nigeria, are at increased risk of under-nutrition and overnutrition. This study assessed this risk by examining the dietary patterns, nutritional knowledge and status of adolescents in Lagos state of Nigeria. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study in which six hundred and eighty-two (682) adolescents were selected from their communities using multistage sampling technique. Nutritional knowledge and dietary patterns were ascertained using structured, self-administered questionnaires and anthropometric measurements were taken to determine nutritional status. Data was analyzed using Epi-Info version 7.2.3.1 computer software. Chi-square was used to test for association between categorical variables and p-values ≤ 0.05 were considered statistically significant. WHO Anthro-Plus was used to evaluate nutritional status. ResultsThe mean age of the adolescents was 13.6±2.3 years. Only 12.0% of them had good level of nutritional knowledge with the males having significantly higher levels. Dietary pattern and diversity were poor with the majority consuming refined cereals (73.5%), salty snacks/high fat foods (69.6%) and carbonated soft drinks (46.8%) while only 9.7% took adequate amount of fruits and vegetables daily. Prevalence of undernutrition was 5.4% while that of overweight and obesity were 10.7% and 5.3% respectively. More females were obese compared with the males. Sex, age, educational status, source of information, daily consumption of snacks, infrequent intake of fruits and vegetables, nutritional knowledge, food habits and dietary diversity were statistically significantly associated with nutritional status of adolescents in the positive direction (p≤0.05).Conclusions Nutritional knowledge and dietary patterns were poor while overweight and obesity are higher than previously reported in the region; especially among the females. Adolescent nutrition intervention programmes addressing weight control especially among females is needed in Lagos.

An Assessment of the Nutritional Status and Eating Habits of in-School Adolescents in Sokoto, North-Western Nigeria

“…This finding is in contrast to report from Bauchi, North-east Nigeria where 54.4% had normal weight and a higher prevalence (36.0%) of underweight was reported [29]. The finding of this study also contrasts with report from Lagos, South-west Nigeria where the prevalence of underweight was lower (5.4%) than that reported in this study [30]. The prevalence of overweight and obesity in the Lagos study were however, higher than those reported in this study.…”

“…The finding of most of the subjects eating at least three main meals per day is comparable to reports from previous studies [28,30,31,35,36]. This finding implies that the meal frequency of adolescents in this study was appropriate but whether the meals were diverse enough to reflect on their nutritional status or not, was not sought for in this study.…”

“…Similarly, overweight and obesity were much higher in the Tanzanian study than reported in this study [31]. This contrasting pattern of nutritional status could be linked to a variation in the socio-cultural and economic setup of people living in the aforementioned locations in Nigeria and elsewhere [27][28][29][30][31]. Bauchi and the study area are located in different zones in the North, with each of the inhabitants experiencing peculiar socio-economic and security challenges [14].…”

Relationship among Food Intake, Dietary Habit and Immunity among Different Age People in West African Countries during the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…Nigeria, which is one of the countries grouped among the low and middle-income countries is subjected to an increasing risk of malnutrition; either under-nutrition (inadequate food intake, irregular meal consumption especially skipping breakfast) and over-nutrition (over-consumption of foods high in calories and fats but poor in nutrients). Those in the adolescent and adult groups also have their food intake and eating habits affected by the socio-economic situation of the country [11]. Among the adolescents, social pressures to achieve a certain body image is causing under-nutrition among some group while some other groups of adolescents are expose to gaining weight as their taste has moved to energy and lipid-rich diet.…”

“…Among the adolescents, social pressures to achieve a certain body image is causing under-nutrition among some group while some other groups of adolescents are expose to gaining weight as their taste has moved to energy and lipid-rich diet. Urbanization and the advent of technology, use of electronic gadgets, and social media have also led to a decrease in physical activity among urban adolescents [11].…”