RESUMO
Introduction: The caloric contribution from snacks is a growing public health concern. University students tend to depend on snacks rather than consuming foods of high nutritional value. This study was aimed at assessing contribution of snacks to nutrient intake of undergraduates. Methods: A validated questionnaire was distributed to 200 purposively selected undergraduates (106 males and 94 females), aged between 16 and 25 years, of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike Abia State, Nigeria. The survey included questions regarding personal characteristics and dietary habits. Nutritional status was assessed by anthropometry. Dietary intake was by 24-hour recall for two consecutive days including a weekend day. Descriptive statistics and student test were performed using SPSS version 16. Results: The commonly consumed snacks were pastries (35%), biscuits (32.5%) and cakes (16.5%), while carbonated (69%) and malt (23%) drinks were their favourite. Many of them skipped meals especially breakfast (41.5%) mainly due to lack of time (34.0%). Males had a significantly higher energy intake (2819.0kcal) than females (2051.0kcal) (p<0.05). Snacks contributed 85.7% and 87.7%, 41.8% and 41.7%, and 55.9% and 50.6% to energy, protein and fat intake of males and females respectively. In terms of iron, calcium and vitamin C intakes, snacks contributed 55.9% and 58.3%, 27.4% and 40.0% and 61.5% and 70.4% for males and females, respectively. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 29.5% and 4.0% for males and females, respectively. Conclusion: Energy contribution from snacks represented a large percentage of total calorie intake of the students. Nutritional education should be provided to enable students make healthy food choices.
RESUMO
Introduction: The rate of exclusive breastfeeding is still low among nursing mothers in developing countries. This descriptive cross-sectional study was designed to identify maternal factors affecting the practice of exclusive breastfeeding among a group of urban mothers in Unnuahia located in South�east, Nigeria. Methods: The study was carried out at four health facilities in Umuahia which were selected randomly from 15 listed facilities. All eligible mothers were consecutively selected using simple random sampling (balloting) technique by trained interviewers for 4 weeks in each of the health facilities until the required sample size of 240 was attained. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on socio-demographic characteristics as well as knowledge, attitude and practice of exclusive breastfeeding. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Chi square was used to determine maternal characteristics associated with the practice of exclusive breastfeeding. Results: The majority of the mothers were in the age range of 26 to 35 years. Their main source of information on breastfeeding was the antenatal clinics (87.9%). Knowledge of the mothers about exclusive breastfeeding was adequate (99.2%), while only one-third (31.7%) had a positive attitude to exclusive breastfeeding (EBF). More than half (64.6%) initiated breastfeeding within the first hour after delivery. Only 22.9% practised EBF for the first six months. Exclusive breastfeeding rate was associated with larger household size, while breastfeeding initiation was associated with maternal older age, higher education, been a civil servant and having a larger household size. Conclusion: There is need for intervention programmes which support and promote optimal breastfeeding practices, focusing more on younger and less educated mothers.