Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices regarding consumption of local nutritious foods among Makerere University Students.

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Makerere University students concerning the consumption of local nutritious foods. The objectives included documenting the prevalent local nutritious foods available to university students, exploring their knowledge and attitudes towards the importance of these foods, assessing the frequency of food consumption among the students, and identifying the factors influencing the consumption of local nutritious foods. The research was conducted at Makerere University using a cross-sectional survey design. Undergraduate students from nine colleges and one school were included in the study using a convenience sampling technique. A total of 278 students participated by responding to a structured questionnaire consisting of open and closed-ended questions. The questionnaire was divided into six sections, capturing socio-demographic data, listing local nutritious foods available on campus, assessing knowledge about the importance of these foods, evaluating attitudes towards their consumption, and identifying factors influencing their consumption. Data analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) version 20.0, with descriptive statistics used to categorize socio-demographic characteristics, level of knowledge, attitudes, and correlation (bivariate analysis) to analyze the factors affecting the consumption of local nutritious foods. Results were presented as frequencies and percentages. Spearman Correlation Test was employed to identify relationships between various factors associated with local nutritious food consumption and overall dietary habits, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. Results of the study revealed that, the most and least available local nutritious food were matooke (89.93%) and yams (45.32%) respectively. Majority (65.1%) of the students had high knowledge about importance of consumption of local nutritious food whereas more than a half (58.3%) of the respondents had good attitude towards local nutritious food. Rolled eggs and chapatti stood out as the most consumed foods with 112 and 89 students respectively reporting to have consumed them 4-7 times a week while Pizza and egg plants stood out as the least consumed foods with a substantial number of respondents reporting to have never consumed them (137 and 124 respectively). Furthermore, findings of this study showed that gender, cost of food, time for food preparation, food safety and taste of food significantly influenced food consumption among Makerere University Students (p<0.05). The study concludes that students have high knowledge and positive attitudes towards local nutritious foods. However, several factors such as gender, cost of food, time for food preparation, food safety and taste of food come into play to influence overall consumption of these foods. Therefore, improving food safety communication, enhancement of culinary skills and time management for healthy cooking and provision of food at a subsidized cost is crucial in promoting consumption of local nutritious foods among university students.