Nutritional status and feeding habits of females in public and private Universities in Osun state, Southwestern, Nigeria

This study examined the dietary habits, nutritional status and socio-demographic characteristics of female undergraduates in selected public and private Universities in Osun State, Southwestern, Nigeria.

The anthropometric assessment of selected respondents consisted measurements of height, weight, body circumferences, body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio of respondents. The food frequency questionnaire technique was adopted to evaluate the feeding/dietary habits using well-constructed questionnaires.

The results showed that over 60% of students in both public and private Universities fell within 18.5–24.9 kg/m², the normal weight range of body mass index according to the World Health Organisation classification. From the waist-to-hip ratio result over 60% were not at risk of non-communicable disease. The respondents were fond of snacking (74.9%) and skipping of meals (86.0%) especially breakfast (52.4%). There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the allowances (pocket money) of students where 33.7% of private University students received over N16,000 as compared to 12% of public University students. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) between the nutritional status of students in public and private Universities.

In conclusion, the nutritional status and the dietary habits/pattern of female undergraduate students are influenced by type of schools and other underlying factors.

The effects of skipping a meal on daily energy intake and diet quality

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether skipping breakfast or lunch increased the next meal's energy content and changed total daily energy content and the quality of food intake measured by the 2010 Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2010).

DESIGN

Means were compared across intake days and meal patterns. Multivariate individual fixed-effects model was used to account for individual food intake and diet quality preferences.

SETTING

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2007-2016.

PARTICIPANTS

Adults aged 18 years or older who reported 2 d (24-h periods) of dietary intake and were not pregnant or lactating (n 23 488).

RESULTS

Adults consumed 193 more kJ at lunch after skipping breakfast and 783 more kJ at dinner after skipping breakfast and lunch. Skipping at least one meal reduced total daily intake between 1053 (breakfast) and 1464 (dinner) kJ and reduced the daily HEI score. Skipping breakfast or skipping lunch reduced the HEI component scores for fruit, whole grains, dairy and empty energy; skipping lunch reduced the component scores for fruit, vegetables, whole grain, dairy, seafood and plant protein, and empty energy. Skipping dinner reduced component scores for vegetables, greens and beans, dairy, protein food, seafood and plant proteins, and empty energy. Skipping one or more meals increased component scores for total vegetables (breakfast), whole grains (dinner), Na (lunch or dinner) and refined grains (breakfast, lunch or dinner).

CONCLUSIONS

Skipping meals (particularly dinner) reduces daily energy intake, but the reduction in daily diet quality (particularly when skipping breakfast) may impact health negatively over time.

Association between eating time interval and frequency with ideal cardiovascular health: Results from a random sample Czech urban population

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The frequency and timing of meals may affect cardiovascular health (CVH) outcomes, but large-scale epidemiological studies are lacking. The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between eating time interval and frequency, and measures of ideal CVH in the Kardiovize Brno cohort study, a random urban sample population in Central Europe.

METHODS AND RESULTS

1659 members of the Kardiovize Brno 2030 cohort were included in a cross-sectional study (mean age = 46.86 years; 44.6% male). Exposure variables were eating time interval and frequency, and skipping meals. Primary outcomes were indices of CVH, including body mass index, diet, physical activity, smoking, blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol, and the composite CVH score. Cluster analysis and binary logistic regression analysis were used to evaluate eating habits and the association between variables. After adjustment for well-known risk factors, subjects who skipped breakfast or the afternoon snack had a higher risk of poor CVH (OR = 1.613; 95%CI = 1.121-2.320; p = 0.010; OR = 1.409; 95%CI = 1.110-1.788; p = 0.005, respectively). Moreover, we identified three clusters of individuals based on eating habits; from cluster 1 to cluster 3, eating time interval and frequency increased and this was associated with increases in CVH score from 8.70 (SEM = 0.10) in cluster 1, and 9.06 (SEM = 0.08) in cluster 2 to 9.42 (SEM = 0.09) in cluster 3 (p-trend = 0.019).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that skipping breakfast or the afternoon snack are risk factors for poor CVH, while higher eating time interval and frequency may promote ideal CVH.