FOOD HABITS AND NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF BANKERS IN UMUAHIA METROPOLIS

ABSTRACT

Poor food habit leads to nutritional inadequacy. This cross-sectional study was designed to determine the food habit and nutritional status of bankers in Umuahia metropolis. A total of 150 respondents were selected using simple random sampling techniques. A well structured questionnaire was distributed to the respondents but 138 were retrieved and analyzed with 67 being males and 71 being females. The questionnaire was made up of 5 sections which include personal characteristics, socio-economic characteristics, food habits, food frequency questionnaire and 24-hour dietary recall and anthropometric measurement. The food habits were determined using food frequency questionnaire and dietary diversity was determined using 24-hour dietary recall. Descriptive analysis was used to obtain the statistical analysis.47.8% of the male respondents were between the ages of 31-40 years, whereas less than seventy percent (69.0%) of the female respondents were between the ages of 20-30 years. Less than sixty percent (56.7%) of the male respondents were married and 57.7% of the female respondents were single.All the respondents in this study were Christians with 47.8% and 56.3% of the male and female respondents respectively having a family size ofbetween 4-6 persons. Theresults showed that less than seventy percent (65.2%) of the respondents skipped meals while some (34.8%) of the respondents do not skip meals. Majority (71.0%) of the respondents consumed snacks whereas some (29%) of the respondents do not.The results on dietary diversity score showed that the male had a mean score of 7.88±2.07 while the females had a mean score of 5.38±1.74.This implies that the males had a higher diversity in their diets while females had medium diversity. The results revealed thathealth (41.3%), preference (65.9%) and availability (19.6%) were the most common factors affecting the food habit of bankers. Results on nutritional status revealed that in general some (63.8%) of the respondents were of a normal weight while the prevalence of overweight and obesity among the bankers were (30.4%) and (5.8%) respectively. Using the waist-hip ratio classification for male and female, the study revealed that less than seventy percent (60.6%) of the female bankers had a high risk of metabolic diseases while 64.2% of the male bankers had a low risk of metabolic diseases.The result of this study shows that there is poor eating habit among bankers. This is due to meal skipping and high snack consumption. Banks should initiate the idea of cafeterias or employ a health conscious catering establishment that will aid in the provision of healthful meals to employees.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.0       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Davidson etal. (2013) reported that food is anything eaten, drunk or taken into the body which can be absorbed by the body to be used as an energy source, building, regulating or protective material. Food is anything that is eaten to provide energy and keep the body healthy. Issues with food, weight and body in ages are not easy to talk about most people are looking for ready-to-eat, a magic fill, or the latest popular diet. But the reality is that there are no magic secrets or tips when it comes to managing eating habits and maintaining a healthy weight.The types and amount of food individual chooses to eat not only affect his or her well being, but also have implication for society as a whole (Hawarlin, 2007). He further reported that the choices of which food to eat, where to eat, and when to eat are intensely personal, influenced by not only prices and income, but also sociological factors, family structure, time constraints and federal food assistance programmes, such as the food stamp programme.

According to Park (2009), nutrition is a science of food and its relationship to health has been recognized in recent years as the corner stone of socio-economic development. Adequate nutrition is important for a variety of reasons including optimal cardiovascular function, muscle strength, respiratory ventilation, protection from infection, wound healing and psychological well-being (Martin, 2006).Adequate nutrition entails a diet that contains the constituents (carbohydrate, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals) that are required for body building, energy supply, body defense and regulatory functions in quantitiescommensurate with the body need.Nutrition is the science that links foods to health and disease and it includes the processes by which the human organisms absorb, transport and excrete food substances (Gordon and Anne, 2011).

Food habit are the ways in which individuals or groups of persons in response to social, cultural and economic pressures choose, consume and make available foods. Food habit is never static but alters changes in the socioeconomic system of which they form part. Food habits are changing constantly as a result of external influences and modifications. Food habits develop as a result of many personal, cultural, social and psychological influences and are part of a person`s total life and personality. Ingrid et al. (2007) reported that food habits of individual and population can best be described by methods that seek information about usual food behavior such as survey questions about frequency, quantity and types of foods usually consumed on average over a period of time. Food habit differs from one group to another. These differences come about because of many influences on food. Food habit are formed or changed by factors like education, religion, economic status, profession and availability of food. Food habits affect people’s food choice.Serra et al. (2006) found out that unsuitable dietary habits coupled with inadequate physical activity are associated with an increased prevalence of obesity and osteoporosis. It is imperative to know that food habit is also a pre-requisite to one’s nutritional status (Umesh, 2012).

According to Mackey (2007), nutritional assessment is an in-depth evaluation of both objective and subjective data related to an individual food and nutrient intake, lifestyle, and medical history. Nutrition assessment consists of the gathering of data to identify individuals who require special care, determine the cause and degree of malnutrition and determine the potential risk for development of nutritional or related complication (Shubhangini, 2002).

Gordon (2002) reported that nutritional assessment is particularly important in adults because early detection and intervention of abnormal intake and health practices can prevent permanent disorders. Mahan and Escott (2004) reported that nutritional status is a measurement of the extent to which an individual physiological needfor nutrient is being met. An individual is said to have attained a good nutritional status when the food supply is adequate and the individual is able to select, obtain and consume food that will meet the nutrient needs. It is therefore said that nutritional status of an individual is the balance between the intake of nutrients by an individual and the expenditure of these in the process of growth, reproduction and health maintenance (Kuczmarski and Flegal, 2002).The nutritional status of people are affected by what they eat, both the kind and quality. Nutritional status is the condition of a population or individual health as affected by the intake and utilization of nutrients and non-nutrients. The nutritional status of an individual such as an adult or a patient in the hospital is assessed from information which is elicited along with other clinical data from a careful history and a systematic clinical examination (Gibney et al., 2006).

The nutritional status and risk of diseases are not obvious among the working group because the symptoms of some diseases are sometimes silent, until the disease itself strike (De Irala, 2013).Physical inactivity has become a public health problem all over the world. The current high level of physical inactivity is believed to be partly due to insufficient participation in physical activity during leisure time and an increase in sedentary behavior during occupational and domestic activities (WHO, 2013).

Over nutrition (overweight and obesity) according to Labadorios (2005) is a nutritional disorder of great concern in industrialized countries and countries in transition is also becoming a call for concern now in developing countries like Cameroon and Nigeria, because of its constantly increasing prevalence. Ironically, overweight and obesity are linked to more deaths worldwide than underweight. For example, 65% of the world's population live in countries where overweight and obesity kill more people than underweight (this includes all high income and most middle income countries). Once considered a high income country problem, overweight and obesity are now on the rise in low and middle income countries, particularly in urban settings. In 2008, more than 1.4 billion adults, 20years and older, were overweight. Of these,WHO (2013) estimated that over 200 million men and nearly 300 million women were obese. 35% of adults aged 20 years and over were overweight in 2008 and 11% were obese. Overweight and obesity are the fifth leading risk for global deaths.Poor diet (high consumption of sugar, salt, saturated fat, etc) and unhealthy lifestyle (smoking, alcohol consumption and physical inactivity) have been identified as major risk factors of cardiovascular disease. They are risks factors of health problems such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetics, dislipidemia, some cancers (Bener, 2006). At least 2.8 million adults die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. In addition, WHO (2013) estimated that 44% of the diabetes burden, 23% of the ischemic heart disease burden and between 7 and 41% of certain cancer burdens are attributable to overweight and obesity.

The banking sector plays a major role in the sustainability of the Nigerians economy. Due to the recent banking reform, banks in Nigeria have been more effective and improved in their various services. De Irala (2013) reported that apart from sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical activity, software professionals like bankers are more into junk food and carbonated soft drinks. Bankers have been reported to be at higher risk of diseases such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, piles, obesity and diabetics due to their sedentary lifestyles, relatively better socio-economic condition and highly stressful nature of their job. Bankers spend much time in the office since much duty is discharged while staying at a place. Ene-Obong (2001) reported that the body composition and nutrient intake of the adult population are dependent on their earlier nutritional health and work practices. This can also be true for bankers who belong to this adult population. As for bankers many have regular food habits, but they sit in one place for hours (Umesh, 2012).

1.1       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Bankers have been reported to be at higher risk of diseases such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, piles, obesity and diabetics due to their sedentary lifestyles and highly stressful nature of their job (Umesh, 2012). Bankers are thus faced with the problem of sedentary lifestyle characterized by little or no physical movement and low energy expenditure. An average banker spends 8-10 hours on duty with long sitting, reading, operating computer and with little or no time for recreation and exercise this leads to the accumulation of excess calories and fats and these unwanted calories lead to obesity.

 In the world today, a lot of bankers are faced with problems which result in lowering of their nutritional status. In some cases even when there is enough food to eat, poor nutritional practices can be a problem, for example, most bankers are more into junk food and carbonated soft drinks because of the intense pressure of their work with little time to care for their bodily needs.

Poor food habit leads to nutritional inadequacy. It is therefore important to identify the factors leading to poor food habit among bankers and assess how it affects their nutritional status. This study was therefore undertaken to assess the food habit and nutritional status of bankers in umuahia metropolis.

1.2       OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The General objective of this study was to determine the food habits and nutritional status of bankers in Umuahia Metropolis.

The specific objectivesare to:

1.      determine the socio-demographic and economic characteristics of bankers.

2.      assess the nutritional status of bankers using anthropometric measurement.

3.      evaluate food habits of bankers using food frequency questionnaire.

4.      determine dietary diversity using 24-hour dietary recall.

5.      determine the factors affecting their food habit.

1.3       SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will help bankers understand their nutritional status and as well as how to maintain it or improve it as the case maybe.

It will help Home Economist and Nutritionist plan and carryout nutrition intervention of bankers in Umuahia Metropolis if need be.

It will bring to limelight the effect of food consumption on the socio-economic characteristics of bankers.

The study will help the government of Abia state and Federal government to plan more effective ways of improving the nutritional status and well being of bankers in Umuahia metropolis and in Nigeria as a whole.

This study will be useful for Ministry of Health and banking institutionson the need for more educative and informative programs for bankers.

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