Authored by Adebobola Imeh Nathaniel*
Abstract
This study investigates dietary intake between urban and rural secondary school students in a low-income country to provide information on an important target group for dietary interventions. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a representative sample of 180 senior secondary school classes 1-3(SSS1-SSS3) that comprise of 13–18 years students in the rural and urban areas of Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Student’s t-test was used to compare the average weight of subjects with different age categories in the rural and urban settings, while ANOVA compared different types of dietary intake for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the amount of carbs, protein and fats for the SS1-SS3 classes in urban and rural schools. Dietary intake for carbs, protein and fats for the students in SS1 [F (2, 10) = 61.84, P<0.001], SS2, [F (2, 10) = 113.67, P<0.001] and SS3 [F (2, 10) = 55.32, P <0.001] were significantly different for students in the urban and rural schools. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) for the types of food taken for breakfast, lunch and dinner between the rural and urban schools. Average weight for all age groups were generally higher in the rural schools than the urban schools [T = (1) =4.24, df = 2, P = 0.05)]. Our findings indicate that dietary intake differs in young secondary school students in rural and urban settings. Higher consumption patterns for high starch content root tubers dominated the dietary intake for rural students, while protein and fats were the dominant foods for urban students.
Keywords: Africa, Carbohydrates, Protein, Fats, Diet, Secondary school
Introduction
Dietary food intake is a major risk factor that can be improved to prevent weight gain, improve health and reduce overall disease risk of students irrespective of whether they live in rural or urban setting [1]. Therefore, the assessment of the dietary food intake in both rural and urban secondary school populations provides a holistic assessment of nutrient appropriateness and provides insight into the impact of diet on weight gain and health outcomes [2]. While urban-rural differentials in students’ anthropometric status have been reported in several countries [3-7], little is known about the differences in the dietary intake between urban and rural secondary school students, and especially how these differences may contribute to differences in weight gain. Differences in diet intake between urban and rural secondary school students may reveal differences in the macro or micronutrient consumption patterns, which may show higher carbs, protein or fats intake among rural students. Findings may help to inform the development of targeted programs to improve nutrition in secondary school students to prevent weight gain and reduce the risk for ill health and chronic diseases. Our aim was to assess whether diet quality intake differs between urban and rural secondary school students in a low-income country. We analyzed differences in carbs, protein and fats food intake for breakfast, lunch and dinner and compared weight as an anthropometric measure of the dietary food intake between secondary school students in rural and urban settings. Our findings from the assessment of diet intake in this study population reveal that secondary school students were an important target population for future dietary interventions aiming to improve diet quality.
Method
Area of study
The study was conducted in Ile-Ife located within latitudes 7028 N and 7046 N, and longitudes 4036 E and 4056 E. Ile-Ife is an ancient Yoruba town in southwestern Nigeria. Evidence of Ile- Ife’s urbanization is dated back to 500 AD [8], and it is presently one of the prominent towns in Osun state, extending over parts of Ife Central, Ife East and Ife North Local Government areas with a population of 3501,100 inhabitants((NPC) 2014). The sociocultural group is the Yoruba ethnic group, one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa [9]. Ile-Ife is an agricultural area with a rural setting and inhabitants who are involved in farming of food crops like, yam, cassava, maize, orange, kola, cocoa, vegetables etc.
Data collection
Experimental design: The study consists of students selected from 2 randomly selected secondary schools in urban and rural areas of Ile-Ife. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study on rural and urban secondary school adolescents in South-Western Nigeria. A randomized sampling technique was used to select participants from public secondary schools stratified by rural or urban location. Data were collected from students in Senior secondary school classes 1-3(SSS1-SSS3). Two classes of about 30 students in each were randomly selected (lottery method) from the senior class. In total, 180 secondary school students in the rural and urban areas of Ile-Ife provided complete and useable data for the study.
Sociodemographic characteristics: Questionnaires were administered individually to the students to complete. The respondents were not allowed to fill in the instruments until they clearly understood the procedure. Enough time was allowed for all the respondents to finish. Questionnaires were collected from the students after completion on the spot. Section A of the questionnaire collected data on sociodemographic characteristics, including information on age, gender, household activities, parental occupation and education level. Section B focused on type of food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Students also completed sections based on the names of local food, which was later categorized to carbohydrate, protein and fats in the data analysis.
Data on anthropometric measurements: We obtained the weight of all the participants before administering the questionnaire. All anthropometric measurements were performed by trained researchers using an electronic scale calibrated prior to weighing [10-13]. The weight was recorded to the nearest 0.1 kg (Tanita WB110AZ). The body mass index (BMI) of each student was calculated as body weight divided by the square of height (kg/m2).
Dietary intake
Dietary intake was measured using a self-administered, semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for Epidemiological Studies [14]. The FFQ covers at least three types of core food groups including carbohydrate, protein and fats [14]. Participants were asked to answer questions regarding their usual dietary intake for breakfast, lunch and dinner and to indicate how frequently they consumed these foods per day. The FFQ also contained pictures of meals for participants to identify their usual portion size and the food category as carbs, protein or fats which was also included in the final dietary analysis. Dietary intake data were collected and analyzed using standard approach [15].
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