NUTRITIONAL STATUS, NUTRITION KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES OF STUDENTS IN JOMO KENYATTA UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY

Abstract

University students are faced with the challenge that results from transition from the organised home andschool environment to the freedom of choosing their diets. Recent studies suggest deterioration in nutritionaland physical activity habits of college students. In the USA, the highest increase in overweight and obesityamong adults occurred among 18-29 year olds. This may lead to future health burdens later in life (Huang etal., 2003). To determine the nutritional status, nutrition knowledge and attitudes of students in Jomo KenyattaUniversity of Agriculture and Technology. A self administered questionnaire was administered to 220 studentsrandomly sampled from third and fourth year students in the Faculties of Agriculture and Science. Data wascollected on socio-demographic characteristics, nutritional knowledge and attitudes. Weight and height weretaken and BMI was calculated to determine nutrition status. The student’s t-test and Chi-Square were used toanalyse numerical data and categorical data respectively. The mean age of the study group was 22.5 years.Overall the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 18.4% and 3.2% respectively, while underweight was9.7%. Overweight and obesity was 21.0% and 3.4%, and 15.8% and 3.0% among males and females,respectively. Underweight among girls was higher than among males, although the difference was notsignificant (p < 0.05). Knowledge on food sources of fat and fiber, and cholesterol lowering foods ranged from26% to 55%, while only 22.3% were knowledgeable about food labeling. There was no significant difference innutritional knowledge across gender, faculties and based on nutritional status. However, there was asignificant difference across gender in meal frequency (p < 0.01) and females were more concerned aboutstaying thin than males (p < 0.001). The nutritional knowledge of the students was moderate, and may haveimplications on future nutritional status. Overweight and obesity was high in the study group, and there isneed for strategies to improve nutrition knowledge among young adults.