An assessment of the legume consumption patterns among Makerere University students ,Kampala, Uganda

Abstract

Legumes refer to plants in the family fabaceae(leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such plants. The common types of legumes used in Uganda include beans, peas, ground nuts, soyabeans, simsim, bambaranuts among others. This study was intended to assess the legume consumption patterns among Makerere University students, frequency of legume consumption and the factors that influence legume consumption among the students. It was a cross sectional and adisriptive study where a structured self administered questionnaire was used to determine University students' legume consumption patterns. The sample size comprsed of 90 students aged 17-50 years who attended the University within the month of January,2020. The data obtained was analysed using SPSS and Excel. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies we're calculated and Leish and Lessle was used with P- value fixed at 0.05 to determine sample size of the study. The major findings from the study show that female students consumed legumes (40%) more regularly than males(36%), beans (fresh and dried) ground nuts dried peas and soyabeans we're the mostly consumed type of legumes compared to other legume types. Perceived health benefits was the key motivator to legume consumption. Notably, 91%of the respondents liked legumes because of health benefits and 88% of the respondents indicated that they would recommend legumes to others because of health benefits.