Food Consumption Patterns of Nigerian Adolescents and Effect on Body Weight

Objective: Association between nutritional status of adolescents and food consumption pattern Design: Data on number of meals and snacks consumed daily were collected using structured questionnaires Nutritional status was assessed as weight-for-age body mass index score less than filth percentile of the National Center for Health Statistics/World Health Organization International Growth Reference Setting: Cross-sectional studies of adolescents Using multistage random sampling procedure Participants: 401 adolescents from 32 secondary schools in Osun State, Nigeria Analysis: Frequency counts, percentages. and cross-tabulation analysis were used to analyze data, analysis of variance was used to test the differences. as well as chi-square analysis Level of significance was taken at 05 and 01 levels Results: 66 1% of adolescents ate 3 meals daily, this percentage was higher among rural (75 4%) than urban (61 4%) children (P < 001) About 33 0% consumed snacks daily but to a varying degree, which was higher among urban than rural adolescents (P = 002) Prevalence of underweight was 20 1%. more common in rural (22 1%) than urban adolescents (18 7%) Underweight prevalence was highest among those who ate 3 meals and no snacks daily (28 6%) and least among those who ate 3 meals and snacks twice daily (15 9%) Conclusion: Snacks are important in food consumption among adolescents, when snacks are consumed m addition to 3 meals. they will improve the nutritional status of adolescents