ABSTRACT
The study assess food labels knowledge, attitude and usage among male adolescent secondary school students in Ikwuano Local Government Area, Abia state. The specific objectives were to determine the socio-economic status of male adolescent secondary school students in Ikwuano Local Government Area, Abia state, to assess their knowledge on the use of food labels, to determine their attitude towards the use of food labels, to assess their usage of food labels and to ascertain the relationship between food label knowledge, attitude, usage and pocket money of male adolescent secondary school students. The study adopted school based cross sectional survey of randomly selected male adolecent's secondary school students in Ikwuano Local Government Area (LGA), Abia State. The data analysis was analyzed with descriptive statistic and correlation coefficient. The data was coded using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 23). The findings of the study revealed that show that majority (80.3%) had poor knowledge about food label while (11.6%) had good knowledge about food label. The result shows that more than half of the respondent (55.4%) had negative attitude towards the use of food label and (44.6%) had positive attitude towards the use of food label. The result shows that majority (63.5%) of the respondent had high usage of food label and few of them (36.5%) had low usage of food label. The result also revealed that there is a relationship between knowledge, Attitude, usage of food labels and pocket money of male adolescents. The result shows that there is positive and significant relationship between knowledge score and attitude score with 0.349(0.01). Also, there was also positive and insignificant relationship between knowledge score and label usage score with 0.040(0.534). The result also shows that there is negative and insignificant relationship between knowledge score and pocket money with 0.032(0.617). Also, the result shows that there positive and significant relationship between attitude score and label usage score with 0.519 (0.01). The result also shows that there is negative and insignificant relationship between attitude score and pocket money with 0.046(0.466). Finally, the study shows that there is negative and insignificant relationship between usage score and pocket money with 0.012(0.847). In conclusion, food labels inform consumers about the composition and nature of products to avoid confusion and protect the consumer against misuse, risk and abuse. This involves the practices on the frequency of reading labels, attention paid to the contents of a label and interpretation of the information given on labels for making a healthy choice.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgment iv
Table of contents v
List of table viii
Abstract ix
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background of the study 1
1.2 Statement of the problem 4
1.3 Objectives of the study 6
1.3.1 General objective of the study 6
1.3.2 Specific objectives 6
1.4 Significance of the study 7
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW 9
2.1 Overview of food labels 9
2.1.1 Front-of-pack (FOP) Labeling 11
2.1.2 Organic Labeling 11
2.1.3 The Back of the Package 11
2.1.4 List of Ingredients 12
2.1.5 Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS¬) 13
2.1.6 Food Allergy Labels 14
2.1.7 Footnote 14
2.1.8 Daily Value 15
2.1.9 Serving Sizes 15
2.2 Nutrition Claims 16
2.2.1 Health Claims 16
2.2.2 Nutrient Content Claims 17
2.2.3 Structure/Function Claims 18 2.2.4 Content of Nutrition Fact Label 18
2.3 The Communicative Value Of Food Labels 19
2.3.1 Information Provided on Food Labels 20
2.4 Determinants of food choices 21
2.4.1 Personal Determinants 21
2.4.2 Sociocultural Determinants 24
2.4.3 Contextual Determinants 26
2.5 Influence of packaging on food choices 27
2.5.1 Functions of Packaging 28
2.5.2 Packaging Elements 30
2.6 Importance of packaging information in food choices 31
2.7 Influence of food labeling on food choices 33
2.7.1 Understanding Food Labeling 33
2.8 Factors that influence adolescent’s attitudes towards food labeling 35
2.8.1 Interest 35
2.8.2 Knowledge about Nutrition 37
2.8.3 Socio-demographics 38
2.8.4 Label Format 39
2.9 Adolescent’s responses to food labeling 40
2.9.1 Search and Exposure 41
2.9.2 Perception 43
2.9.3 Understanding and Inference 43
2.9.4 Use 45
2.9.5 Liking 46
2.9.6 Evaluation and Decision 46
CHAPTER 3
MATERIALS AND METHODS 47
3.1 Study design 47
3.2 Area of study 47
3.3 Population of study 48
3.4 Sampling and sampling techniques 49
3.4.1 Sample Size 49
3.4.2 Sampling Procedure 49
3.5 Preliminary activities 50
3.5.1 Preliminary visits 50
3.5.2 Training of Research Assistants 50
3.5.3 Informed Consent 50
3.6 Data collection 51
3.6.1 Questionnaire Administration 51
3.7 Data analysis 52
3.8 Statistical analysis 52
CHAPTER 4
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 53
4.1 Socio-economic status of male adolescent 53
4.2 Knowledge of male adolescents on the use of food labels 57
4.3 Attitude of the male adolescents on the use of food labels 61
4.4 Label usage of the male adolescents 66
4.5 Relationship between knowledge, attitude, usage of food labels and pocket
money by male adolescents 69
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1. Conclusion 71
5.2. Recommendations 73
REFERENCES 74
APPENDICES
Appendix I- Questionnaire
Appendix II- Introduction letter
Appendix III- Ethical Approval
LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1 Socio-economic status of male adolescent 56
Table 4.2 Knowledge of Male Adolescents on the Use of Food Labels 60
Table 4.3 Attitude of the Male Adolescents on the use of Food Labels 64
Table 4.4 Label Usage of the Male Adolescents 69
Table 4.5 Relationship between Knowledge, Attitude, Usage of Food Labels and Pocket Money by Male Adolescents 72
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Adolescence can be described as a period of life, typically occurring between the ages of 10 and 19 years, in which youth undergo rapid physical, cognitive and social transformation. Adolescence, the second decade of life, is a period in which an individual undergoes major physical and psychological changes. Alongside this, there are enormous changes in the person’s social interactions and relationships. At the same time, it is a period of risk: a period when health problems that have serious immediate consequences can occur or when behavioral problems that could have serious adverse effects on health in the future are initiated (WHO, 2009). The internationally accepted definition of a food label is any tag, brand, mark, pictorial or other descriptive matter, written, printed, stencilled, marked, embossed or impressed on, or attached to, a container of food or food product. This information, which includes items such as ingredients, quality and nutritional value, can accompany the food or be displayed near the food to promote its sale. A food label, the information presented on food product, is one of the most important and direct means of communicating information to the consumer.
In 2014 at the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2), governments affirmed that empowerment of consumers is necessary through improved and evidence-based health and nutrition information and education to make informed choices regarding consumption of food products for healthy dietary practices.
FAO works in partnership with WHO to advise the Codex Alimentarius Commission on technical and policy matters related to food labeling. The Codex Committee on Food Labeling (CCFL) is the Codex subsidiary body responsible for setting standards and guidelines on labeling that is applicable to all foods and the Codex General Standard for Labeling of Prepackaged Foods (CXS 1-1985) is the key Codex instrument for delivering information about food to the consumer. The Codex standard is used by countries as guidance for harmonization and has also been used as the basis for new food labeling policies (Borra, 2016).
In general, food labels inform consumers about the composition and nature of products to avoid confusion and protect the consumer against misuse, risk and abuse. Marketing information, including the selling price, brand name and commercial offers, is provided as well as information on the safe storage, preparation and handling of the food products (cheftel, 2005). Information on ingredients, nutrition and the declaration of potential allergens and nutrition and/or health claims, helps consumers to make an informed decision (Grunert, 2010).
Food labels information assists consumers to better understand the nutritional value of food and enables them to compare the nutritional values of similar food products and to make healthy informed food choices based on the relevant nutrition information (Al Tamimi and Company, 2004). As consumers are becoming more aware of the relationship between diet and disease; their demand for nutrition information increases (Washi, 2012). Consequently food label is very useful for people who are on special diets (e.g. people suffering from diabetes or high blood lipid) to select suitable foods for their health conditions.
Consumers perceive themselves as knowledgeable regarding food label use. The most frequently parts of the label read were the calorie; fat; sugar; sodium and fiber contents. They also use serving size; ingredient list; the % daily values; health and nutrient claims; price; and brands when making their food purchasing decisions (McLean, 2001). Many consumers feel confident that they understand how to read labels and prefer using a food label than relying on their own knowledge (Godwin and Thompson, 2006).
Consumer attitude refers to the selection, purchase and consumption of goods and services for the satisfaction of their wants. Consumer’s buyer behaviour and the resulting purchase decision are strongly influenced by cultural, social, personal and psychological characteristics. An understanding of the influence of these factors is essential for marketers in order to develop suitable marketing mixes to appeal the target customer.
Consumers are attracted in buying healthful foods and beverages from the use of food label for satisfying personal health goals (Manwa, 2013). It is familiar that many disease are diet related and can be controlled or prevented through an appropriate diet and therefore to change eating pattern, sufficient information such as nutritional information must be provided at the point of purchase and thus, it can make the whole concept of healthy eating simpler and useful for making better food choices. There are many factors that are considered during buying the food products such as packaging, price, taste and nutritional labeling (Nurliyanaet al., 2011).
The consumers are expected to translate the information given on labels of packaged snacks into healthy choices at the point of purchase (Story and Resnick, 2002). This involves the practices on the frequency of reading labels, attention paid to the contents of a label and interpretation of the information given on labels for making a healthy choice.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
They are often not aware of the potential health risks associated with poor eating habits and have not thought about making dietary changes (Stang, 2005). Adolescents are exposed to under nutrition, micro-nutrient malnutrition as well as obesity. Their lifestyle and eating behaviours, along with underlying psychosocial factors, are particularly important threats to adequate nutrition (WHO, 2005).
It is shown that nutrition education, age, sex and attitudes predict the food label use by the adolescents (Misra, 2005). Adolescents are specifically targeted to intense marketing efforts by manufacturing companies to promote unhealthy snacks, since they represent the future adult consumers (Story and French, 2004). In a study, the results showed that consumers who are well educated had a low understanding about the information provided on the food labels. It was also noted that advertisement and prices were seen to be the key factors that influence purchasing decision (Rose et al., 2012).
Although there are many reasons for an increase in the prevalence of obesity, frequent consumption of unhealthy processed foods is an important risk factor. Consumption of nontraditional fast foods (such as pizza and burgers), processed foods (such as candy and bakery goods), and packaged foods (convenience or shelf stable foods, which are ready to eat or need minimal processing, and which come in packaged form) has been increasing at a rapid pace, and more so among adolescents and children in urban areas (Wasir and Misra, 2004).
On the other hand, several problems do occur regarding the uses of food label, for instance, some consumers do not understand food nutrition label well enough to make healthy food choices (Pelletier, 2004). Inappropriate food choice may cause diets that are high in calories, fat, sodium and refined carbohydrates to be consumed (Fatimah, 2010). Research has found that high education people more likely to use food labels (Blitstein and Evans, 2006). In addition, adolescents also recommended expanding their nutrition knowledge to select healthy food choices at schools, homes and in restaurants. There are many factors being considered during buying of food products such as packaging, price, taste and nutritional labeling (Harnack, 2008). Besides, the type of nutrition information used also influence the students understanding toward nutrition information, thus, influencing them to read or not the labels. For example, different formats are used in different countries leading to the confusion of the consumers during food purchasing decision. Despite its importance, understanding the use of food labels by adolescents to choose healthier snacks is limited (Bonsmann and Celemin, 2010). A few studies conducted showed a scare evidence on lack of knowledge and skills of adolescents in interpreting food labels: Hence, this study will ascertain food label knowledge, attitude and usage among male adolescent secondary school students in Ikwuano local government area, Abia state
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1.3.1 General Objective of the Study
The general objective of the study is to assess food labels knowledge, attitude and usage among male adolescent secondary school students in Ikwuano Local Government Area, Abia state.
1.3.2 Specific Objectives of the Study
The specific objectives of the study are to:
1. determine the socio-economic status of male adolescent secondary school students in Ikwuano Local Government Area, Abia state.
2. assess their knowledge on the use of food labels
3. determine their attitude towards the use of food labels.
4. assess their usage of food labels.
5. ascertain the relationship between knowledge, attitude, usage and pocket money of male adolescent secondary school students.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Generally, a healthy body is important in order to maintain a healthy mind especially in academic environment. Hence, the outcome of the study will establish the food label knowledge, attitude and usage among male adolescent secondary school students. This study will help the students know their status in regards to nutrition and health. Results obtained from this study will be handy to students in the secondary school to correct their nutritional practices. To the schools proprietors, food and nutrition teacher, and personnel involved in students welfare, this study will help the students know the right food to purchase and what to consume.
The findings of this study will be important for the Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike and other learning institutions in designing and initiating nutrition awareness programs to enlighten other students and entire community on food label knowledge, attitude and usage. On the other hand, the study base will be a line study for further research among secondary schools within Nigeria and entire world.
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