ABSTRACT
This study aimed at investigating the knowledge, attitude and consumption level of carotene rich foods among students in Abia state polytechnic and Michael Opkara University of Agriculture, Umudike. It was a cross-sectional survey comprising of four hundred (229 males and 171females) undergraduate students of Abia poly and MOUAU. A structured and validated questionnaire was used to collect information on personal data, knowledge and attitude of carotene rich food, consumption levels of carotene rich foods and their dietary patterns. The names of the departments in the six different faculties were written on pieces of papers and the papers were folded. Two (2) individuals were asked to randomly pick one paper each without replacement from each faculty. The departments picked were the ones used in this research work and IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.0 was used to analyze the data. The results shows that, more than half (54.5%) of the respondents had moderate nutrition knowledge, 7.8% had poor nutrition knowledge while 37.8% of the respondents had good nutrition knowledge. More than one-third (36.3%) of the respondent had poor knowledge of carotene rich foods, 38.5% had moderate knowledge of carotene rich foods while 25.3% had good knowledge of carotene rich foods. The respondents’ attitudes to carotene rich foods consumption revealed that 38.5% of the respondents agreed that scraping off the back of carrot is better than eating it with the back, 42.8% agreed that peeling off the back of cucumber is more nutritional than eating it with the back, 43.0% agreed that bleaching red oil while making stew is more nutritional, 41.8% agreed that bleaching pumpkin leaf is not nutritional, 37.5% agreed that fruits and vegetables can’t serve as a meal, 48.3% agreed that cooked tomatoes is better than fresh tomatoes, 44.5% agreed that cooked cabbage is better than fresh cabbage, 46.5% agreed that using turmeric as colourant is better than artificial colour, 40.3% agreed that eating too much carotene rich foods like pawpaw, vegetables etc can cause stomach disorder, 55.5% agreed that carotene rich foods are red in colour and 48.0% agreed that carotene rich foods contains water soluble vitamin. The respondents had average consumption of fruits and vegetables to be 1-2 times daily. Consumption of vegetables was seen to be higher compared to fruits intake. Fruits and vegetables consumption is a critical route to long life and good health. Although the consumption of fruit and vegetable is strongly associated with lower risk of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes, gastrointestinal diseases and obesity, consumption levels among students of Abia state polytechnic and MOUAU are notably lower than the recommended amount of 400g per day, a quantity approximately equivalent to 5 servings per day. Thus, there is the need to identify acceptable ways in which carotene rich foods consumption will be increased among students in Abia state poly and MOUAU.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
COVER
PAGE i
DEDICATION ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii
CERTIFICATION
iv
TABLE
OF CONTENT v
ABSTRACT
vii
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
of study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 4
1.3 Objective of the Study 5
1.3.1 General Objective 5
1.3.2 Specific Objectives 5
1.4 Significance of the study 6
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Carotene
rich foods 7
2.1.1 Classifications of carotene rich foods 10
2.2 Carotene
and health 13
2.2.1 Carotene rich foods
and cancer 14
2.2.2 Carotene rich foods
and obesity 17
2.2.3 Carotene rich foods
and disease and infections 19
2.2.4 Carotene rich foods and skin 26
2.2.5 Carotene
rich foods and eyes 28
2.2.6 Carotene
rich foods and cognitive function 29
2.3 Risk
factors of carotene rich foods 31
2.4 Nutritional
factors of carotene rich foods 32
2.4.1 Foods high in carotene 37
2.4.2 Selections of foods high in carotene 38
2.5 Factors that
affect the knowledge, attitude and consumption level of
carotene
rich foods 38
2.5.1 Lack of information 38
2.5.2 Family or peer group influence 39
2.5.3 Availability and accessibility 40
2.5.4 Cultural belief and practices 41
2.5.5 Individual taste, hunger and cost of food 41
2.6 Importance of nutrition education 42
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 MATERIALS AND METHODS 46
3.1 Study Design 46
3.2 Study Area 46
3.3 Population of the Study 46
3.4 Sampling and sampling techniques 47
3.4.1 Sample size 47
3.4.2 Sampling procedure 48
3.5 Sample Selection 48
3.6 Preliminary activities 49
3.6.1 Preliminary visits 49
3.6.2 Questionnaire design and pretest 49
3.7 Data Collection 50
3.6.1 Questionnaire 50
3.8 Data Analysis 50
3.9 Statistical
Analysis 50
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 RESULTS
4.1 Socio Economic Characteristics of the
Respondents 51
4.2 Nutritional knowledge of the Respondents 51
4.3a
Attitude of the Respondents towards
carotene rich foods 56
4.3b Attitude of the Respondents towards
carotene rich foods 58
4.4a Frequency
of food consumption of the Respondents 59
4.4b Frequency
of food consumption of the Respondents 61
4.5a Carotene food frequency of the respondents 62
4.5b Carotene food frequency of the respondents 64
4.5c Carotene food frequency of the respondents 66
4.5d Carotene food frequency of the
respondents 68
4.5e Carotene food frequency of the respondents 70
CHAPTER FIVE
5.0 DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Conclusion 78
5.2 Recommendations 79
References
Appendix
I
Appendix
II
Appendix
III
Appendix
IV
LIST OF TABLES
Table
4.1: Socio-economic characteristics of the respondents
Table
4.2: Nutritional knowledge of the Respondents
Table
4.3: Attitude of the Respondents towards carotene rich foods
Table
4.4a: Food frequency consumption pattern of the respondent
Table
4.4b: Food frequency consumption pattern of the respondent
Table
4.5a: Carotene food frequency of the respondents
Table
4.5b: Carotene food frequency of the respondents
Table
4.5c: Carotene food frequency of the respondents
Table
4.5d: Carotene food frequency of the respondents
Table
4.5e: Carotene food frequency of the respondents
4.6 Relationships between nutritional
knowledge and attitude on the consumption of carotene rich foods
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of study
Carotenoids are lipophilic pigments
synthesized by plants, fungi, algae, and bacteria (Johnson, 2012). In plants,
carotenoids contribute to the photosynthetic system and protect them against
photo-damage, in addition to helping in the production of phyto-hormones. As
pigments, they are responsible for the red, orange, pink, and yellow colors of
the leaves of plants, fruits, vegetables, and some birds, insects, fish, and
crustaceans (Saini, 2015). More than 750 types of carotenoids have been
identified in nature, but only about 100 are present in detectable amounts
within the human diet (Saini, 2015). Between 30 and 40 carotenoids have been
found in human blood samples and the six most abundant carotenoids consist of
more than 95% of the carotenoids found in blood plasma: lycopene, lutein,
α-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, β-carotene, and zeaxanthin (Eggersdorfer, 2018).
In
recent decades, carotenoids (lycopene, β-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and
β-cryptoxanthin) have aroused great interest in the field of human nutrition,
as they act as biological antioxidants, contributing to the defense of the
organism against reactive oxygen species (ROS) and play a protective role in
conditions, such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, impacting cellular
signaling pathways and influencing the expression of certain genes, and
inhibiting specific enzymes involved in the development of certain forms of
cancer (Sharoni, 2012). Dietary carotenoids are mainly accumulated in the
liver, where they are transferred to be transported by the different
lipoproteins for their release into the blood circulation and thus to be deposited
and stored in different organs and tissues, such as the kidneys, adipose
tissue, adrenal glands, testes, skin, and the prostate (Bonet, 2016).
The
carotenoids present in the skin can protect against the damaging effects of
radiation and neutralize the attacks of free radicals, particularly reactive
oxygen species (ROS)(Meinke, 2010). In addition, the concentrations of these
carotenoids in the skin can increase withtheir dietary supplementation and
decrease in people with oxidative stress, such as smokers. Similarly,
carotenoids in plasma and skin decrease with exposure to UV rays (Evans, 2010).
The accumulation of these antioxidants, as well as of their metabolites in the
liver, can exert a positive effect on the hepatocyte metabolism, regulating the
cellular oxidative state in certain liver pathologies. Non-alcoholic fatty
liver disease (NAFLD) is currently considered one of the most frequent chronic
liver diseases in the world and represents a serious and growing clinical
problem in developed and developing countries (Mikolasevic, 2016).
Fruits and vegetables are the main
sources of carotenoids in the human diet, providing 80–90% of these compounds
in developed countries and 82% in developing countries (Khachik, 2017). Since
carotenoids cannot be synthesized in the human body, they are used as
biomarkers to reflect the intake of fruits and vegetables, establishing a
direct relationship between the consumption of vegetables and the concentration
of carotenoids in blood (Carlsen, 2011).Carotenoids are found in almost all
foods of plant origin, but Britton and Khachik(2019) establisheda
classification of dietary sources according to their carotenoid content,
establishing sources with a lowcontent (0–0.1 mg/100 g fresh product), moderate
(0.1–0.5 mg/100 g fresh product), high (0.5–2 mg/100g fresh product), and very
high content (>2 mg/100 g fresh product).
β-carotene is the main carotenoid
present in the human diet. It is found mainly in yellow–orange and dark green
fruits and vegetables, such as carrots, squash, spinach, papaya, mango,
apricots, and orange flesh sweet potatoes(Rodriguez-Amaya, 2018). Lycopene is a
carotenoid that lacks provitamin A activity and is responsible forred to pink
colors in fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes, red grapefruit, watermelon,
apricots, pinkguava, and papaya (Latief, 2018). Tomatoes and tomato-based
products are the most common sources oflycopene in the human diet.
Lutein is a non-provitamin A
carotenoid that belongs to the family of xanthophylls oroxycarotenoids. It is
distributed in a wide variety of vegetables, such as kale, spinach, and winter
squash, and fruits such as mango, papaya, peaches, plums, and oranges (Perry,
2009). Commercially, lutein is extracted from the flowers of the tagetes
(Tageteserecta L.), which contains 0.1–0.2% ofcarotenoids, of which 80 are
diesters of lutein (González-Barrio, 2018). β-Cryptoxanthin, a xanthophyll with
pro-vitaminA activity and one of the lesser-known carotenoids, is usually present
in pumpkins, peppers, carrot ,oranges, peaches, tangerines, and in tropical
fruits such as papaya (Krinsky, 2015). It has been observed that undergraduates
are more inclined towards taking empty calorie foods with little consideration
for healthy foods, especially fruits and
vegetables.This has the tendency of pre-disposing them to obesity, dental
caries, scurvy, night blindness, hemorrhagic disease or bleeding disorder,
anemia, osteoporosis, goiter and other non-communicable diseases in later
years. Therefore this study aimed at assessing the knowledge and attitude
towards consumption of carotene rich foods among students.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Undergraduates are faced with a
plethora of food choices that challenge their ability to consume a healthful
diet (Ehrens, 2009).
Prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide,
it is faster in developing countries due to declining levels of physical
activity as well as nutrition transition characterized by a trend towards consumption
of a diet high in fat, sugar and refined foods and low in fibre (Ogden et al., 2014). Current evidence revealed
a clear transition of increasing proportions of overweight/obesity in
undergraduate in Sub-Saharan Africa, and a similar, but less prominent trend
towards increasing proportions of obesity over time(Muthuriet al., 2014). This transition to higher proportions of
overweight/obesity is similar to observed trends in developed countries.
There is an increasing rate of
cancers and cancer related illnesses, infections and disease, eyesight related
problems, skin infection and poor cognitive development which are traceable to
poor intake of carotene rich foods, hence the need for this research.
Also, there is paucity of research on
carotene rich foods consumption levels among undergraduates in Nigeria.
1.3 Objective of the Study
1.3.1 General Objective
The general objective of this study
was to investigate the knowledge and attitude towards consumption of carotene
rich foods among students in Abia Poly and MOUAU.
1.3.2 Specific Objectives
The
specific objectives of this study were:
1.
To assess the knowledge level of undergraduate on the health benefitsof
consumption of carotene rich foods.
2.
To determine the attitudes of undergraduate towards consumption of carotene
rich foods.
3.
To deduce the frequency of consumption of carotene rich foods of
undergraduates.
4. To identify the reasons for
consumption of carotene rich foods among undergraduates.
1.4 Significance of the study
Data
obtained from this research work will be beneficial in the following ways:
1.
It will provide information on the knowledge and attitude of undergraduates in
Abia Poly and MOUAU towards the consumption of carotene rich foods.
2.
It will provide information on the consumption level of carotene rich foods
among undergraduates in Abia Poly and MOUAU.
3.
It will guide nutritionist in conducting nutrition education programmes.
4.
It will serve as a guide in making policy towards improving the nutritional
health of undergraduates.
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