Assessment of the Lifestyles and Feeding Patterns of Selected Families in Agbor Metropolis, Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study was a nutritional assessment of the contemporary life of the people of Agbor in Delta State, with a view to determining how their attitude to  food was predicated on their lifestyles. The study population consisted of 300 working class individuals in Agbor metropolis from which 100 were  randomly selected. In order to effectively collect information from the respondents, a 26-item questionnaire was designed to determine the influence of  people’s health and cultures on their feeding patterns. The research instrument was validated and pilot-tested twice on the respondents and a reliability  co-efficient of 0.85 was established. The Chi-square statistic was used to analyse the data generated at the 0.05 level of significance, and it showed that  socio-economic status was significant as a determinant of feeding pattern. Furthermore, unhealthy lifestyles from bad feeding patterns disposed some  individuals to nutritional related diseases such as obesity (3.56 + 1.153), diabetes (3.41+1.263), hypertension (3.12+1.395) and ulcer (3.64+1.312). The  study recommended dispositions towards healthy lifestyle for the people, drastic reduction of foods that are calorie dense, skipping breakfast, drinking  sugary beverages respectively, and emphasised adequate intake of nutrient dense foods such as fruits and vegetables and foods rich in essential fatty  acids to maintain the body’s health status.