ABSTRACT
This study was design to assesses snacks and beverage consumption pattern of school aged children in Umuahia North Local Government area of Abia State. Data for this report was obtained from a cross-sectional survey of 218 school age children. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit information on personal, caregivers’ socio-economic characteristics, beverages and snack consumption. Information on anthropometry was also determined using standard methods. Data obtained from the study were subjected to statistical analysis, using statistical package for social sciences version 23. The results of the different variables collected revealed that many of the respondents 42 (19.3%) were within the ages of 9 Years. Those in public schools were more (39.4%) compare to those in missionary school (37.6%) and private schools (22.9%). Their class showed that 18.3% were primary 1 and primary 2 each while 19.3%, 12.8%, 12.4% and 18.8% were in primary 3, 4, 5, and 6 respectively. Most (84.9%) of the children reside with both parents (father and mother) as 8.7% and 0.9% reside with mother and father respectively. However, 2.8% lives with brother/sister and a relation each. Most (97.7%) of the children were christens while only 2.3% were traditional worshipers. Information on how the children take lunch in school revealed that many (68.8%) do go to school with lunch box as parent gives 18.8% money to buy food in school and 12.4% don't take lunch to school. The BMI for age showed that 45.4% had normal BMI for age while 10.6%, 20.6%, 3.7% and 5.0% were obsessed, overweight, underweight and Severely underweight respectively. More of the children had normal (64.2%) weight for age as 4.6% were both overweight and obese. The prevalence of severely underweight (6.4%) were more than underweight (4.6%). The height for age revealed that 77.5% had normal height for age while 3.2% and 16.1% were stunted and severely stunted. The beverage consumption of the respondents revealed that more (56.9%) consumed coca cola rarely as 23.4% consumed it weekly. The sprite consumption showed that 49.5% consumed sprite weekly as 1.8% it daily. Few (2.8%) of the children consumed fanta daily as 54.2% consumed it weekly. It was also observed that prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting was high. However, daily consumption of foods from milk and dairy products, fruits and vegetable group was poor, thus showing the need for parents to be educated on the importance of meat, milk, fruits and vegetables in the health and well-being of their children
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgements iv
Table of Contents v
List of Tables viii
List of Figures ix
Abstract x
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Statement of Problem 3
1.2 Objective of the study 4
1.3 Significance of the study 4
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW 6
2.1 Snacks 7
2.1.1 Prevalence of Snacking Among School Aged Children 7
2.2 Beverages 7
2.3 Consumption Pattern of Snacks and Beverages 10
2.4 Snacks and Beverage product consumption and key nutrient intake and status in School aged children 11
2.4.1 Calcium 12
2.4.2 Phosphorus 12
2.4.3 Magnesium 13
2.4.4 Iodine 13
2.4.5 Potassium 13
2.5 Factors affecting beverage consumption in childhood 14
2.5.1 Age 14
2.5.2 Sex 14
2.5.3 Parental influence 15
2.5.4 Dietary pattern 15
2.6 Benefits of Snacks and Beverage 15
2.6.1 Impact of Beverage Consumption on Health Outcomes 16
2.6.2 Impact of snack and beverage consumption on diet quality 17
2.6 Effect of milk and dairy products on linear growth in undernourished children 18
2.6.1 School-aged children 18
2.7 Dietary dairy in growth and development 18
CHAPTER 3
MATERIALS AND METHODS 20
3.1 Study Design 20
3.2 Study Area 20
3.3 Population of the Study 20
3.4 Sampling and Sampling Technique 21
3.4.1 Sample size determination 21
3.4.3 Sampling Procedure 22
3.5 Preliminary activities 22
3.5.1 Preliminary visit 22
.3.5.2 Training of research assistants 22
3.5.3 Ethical approval 22
3.6 Data collection 23
3.6.1 Questionnaire design 23
3.6.2 Questionnaire administration 23
3.6.3 Anthropometric measurement 23
3.7 Data Analysis 24
3.8 Statistical Analysis 24
CHAPTER 4
RESULT AND DISCUSSION 25
4.1: Sociodemographic Characteristics of the School Age Children and Their Parents 25
4.2: How the Child Take Lunch in School 29
4.3: Anthropometric Status of the School Age Children 30
4.4: The Distribution of the School Type of the Children According 32
To Their Anthropometric Status
4.4: Snacks and Beverages Consumption. 33
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 43
5.1: Conclusion 43
5.2: Recommendation 43
LIST OF TABLES
4.1a: Sociodemographic Characteristics of the School Age Children and Their Parents 26
4.1b: Sociodemographic Characteristics of the School Age Children and Their Parents 27
4.3: The Distribution of the School Type of the Children According To Their Anthropometric Status 33
4.4: Snacks and Beverages Consumption 35
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
The issue of food is very basic to human life. It is so basic and obvious that it often escapes public attention until it is not there or until the consumption of an unhealthy mix of it contributes to health problems (Abdullahi and Yakubu, 2013). Among the variety of functions that food performs include; acting as a source of nourishment, as a pastime for personal indulgence or as a focus for socializing with family, friends, and others and in contributing to a general sense of individual and national well-being (Abdullahi and Abdullahi, 2014). The relevance and significance of each of those roles played by food to an individual or a group of people are expected to reasonably vary as diversity exists among various groups of consumers in relation to their characteristics such as age, income, gender, educational background to mention but few (Pantoja‐Mendoza et al., 2014). It is therefore not surprising that the issue of food consumption is described as immensely complex. It is widely acknowledged that beverages constitute a type of food and a major source of energy in most countries (Adedayo et al., 2013).
Although snacks can provide important nutrients for young children during the complementary feeding period, the increasing availability of snack foods and sugar‐sweetened beverages (SSB), often energy‐dense and nutrient‐poor, in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMIC) is a concern. Such foods may displace consumption of nutritious foods in contexts where diets are often nutritionally inadequate and the burden of childhood malnutrition is high (Osuntogun and Aboaba, 2014). Ensuring a nutritious diet in the first 2 years of life, in terms of both quantity and quality, is vital for young children's nutrition and health (Phillip et al., 2013). During this period of accelerated growth and development, a child's nutrient requirements are high. The types of snacks fed to young children however are important to ensure diet quality. Snack food products and sugar‐sweetened beverages (SSB) are often energy‐dense, nutrient‐poor, and high in salt or sugar (Lucan et al., 2012; Monteiro et al., 2016; Sekiyama et al., 2012; Waseem et al., 2014), making them inappropriate for infant and young child feeding (Moodie et al., 2013). The growing availability of unhealthy processed foods in many low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMIC) is a concerning trend (Monteiro et al., 2013). Excessive consumption of snack food products and beverages is one of the leading causes of overweight and obesity among children (Nicklas et al., 2013; Phillips et al., 2014; Welsh, 2015). Additionally, energy‐dense, nutrient‐poor foods early in life can displace consumption of other nutritious foods, including snacks that are not enriched (Kimmons et al., 2015), potentially increasing a child's risk of inadequate nutrient intakes and contributing to childhood undernutrition. The correlation between consumption of snack foods/SSB and lower consumption of nutrient‐rich foods and/or reduced nutrient intakes has been shown in high‐income settings (Marriott et al., 2012; Murakami and Livingstone, 2015).
School age is the age at which a child is old enough to go to school. School age child development is a range from 6 to 12 years of age (Umeokonkwo et al., 2020). During this time period observable differences in height, weight, and build of children may be prominent. The language skills of children continue to grow and many behavior changes occur as they try to find their place among their peers. There is an increasing trend of being overweight and obese in school-aged children, mainly attributable to reduced physical activity (Manyike et al., 2014).
Undernutrition is a major public health problem worldwide, especially in low and middle-income countries (Manyike et al., 2014). Globally, in 2015, 159 million children under the age of five were estimated to be stunted and more than a third of these live in Africa (WHO, 2015). Fifty million under-five children were wasted with 16 million being severely wasted, in 2015 as reported by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI, 2016). In Nigeria, 33% of under-five children were stunted, 19.4% were underweight while 7.2% had moderate acute malnutrition in 2015 (WHO, 2015).
1.1 Statement of Problem
At least one in three children is not getting the nutrition they need to grow well, particularly in the crucial first 1,000 days – from conception to the child's second birthday – and often beyond. An increasing number of children and young people are surviving, but far too few are thriving because of malnutrition. While several studies have revealed that there is an association between frequent snacking and higher total caloric intake (USDA, 2015; Sebastian et al., 2015; Keast et al., 2012), some studies have reported no relationship between snacking behaviour and weight status, while others have found that young people who consume more snacks are more likely to be overweight (Larson and Story, 2013). Obtaining reliable data on snack and beverage consumption is a necessary tool in health promotion and prediction of disease risk, particularly for cardiovascular diseases. Although some research has been done on snacking patterns in adolescents in Nigeria, there is no recent data on the consumption pattern of snacks and beverages of school aged children in Abia State.
Children consumption behavior towards snacks and beverages products is very low and strongly influenced by psychological, social, economic and cultural factors (Rena et al., 2012; Tuan et al., 2013). Both cross-sectional surveys and longitudinal data suggest a decreasing trend in beverage consumption with age (Maunder et al., 2015). In addition to compromising the status of micronutrients, including calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iodine, zinc, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and riboflavin (vitamin B2), beverage product consumption below recommended levels may have an adverse impact on bone and dental integrity and maintenance of healthy body composition (Ranganathan et al., 2015). Levels of mineral and vitamin deficiency that have no clinical symptoms can and do impair intellectual development, cause illness and early death on a very large scale, and condemn perhaps a third of the world to live life below their physical and mental potential (Rafferty and Heaney, 2015). Hence this study aimed at assessing the snacks and beverage consumption pattern of school aged children in Umuahia North Local Government area of Abia State.
1.2 Objective of the study
The general objective of this study is to evaluate the snacks and beverage consumption pattern of school aged children in Umuahia North Local Government area of Abia State.
The Specific objectives include:
1. to assess the socio-demographic characteristics of school aged children and their parent
2. to determine the beverage and snacks consumption behavior of the school aged children for snacks and beverage
3. comparing the differences between anthropometric status among private, and public school children
4. to assess the anthropometric status of school aged children in Umuahia North Local Government area of Abia State using Body Mass Index (BMI).
1.3 Significance of the study
This work would provide data that would be:
Relevant in snacks and beverage consumption with potential to address consumption behavior among school aged children in Nigeria. The knowledge derived from this study will assist those involved in health education and promotion of healthy eating habits among school aged students.
Promote consumption of snacks and beverage among school-aged children, which are rich naturally in nutrients to reduce occurrences of some nutrient and micronutrient deficiencies.
At the end of this study, suggestions and recommendations will be made on some factors that will affect successful consumption of snacks and beverages products of school-aged children in the country
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