Dietary diversity and Anthropometric status of students at universities in Dodoma and Morogoro regions, Tanzania

Abstract

Background: Young adulthood is a transitional period that provides an opportunity to influence immediate and future eating behavior and good nutritional status. As diets evolve during young adulthood due to changes in circumstances and the introduction of new influences, young adults are a significant population group to influence future eating behaviours and prevent the development of NCDS. There is scanty information on the relationship between dietary diversity and the nutritional status of university students in Tanzania. This study aimed to find the synergy between university students' anthropometric status and dietary diversity in Morogoro and Dodoma regions of Tanzania.

Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 247 University students in Morogoro and Dodoma regions (130 from Mzumbe University and 117 from Saint John’s University) respectively. The two Universities were purposively selected from each region. Data on Dietary diversity was collected using food groups from DDS to obtain the dietary score of each student. Anthropometric measures such as weight, height and waist circumference were done to obtain the anthropometric status of the University students.

Results: The descriptive cross-sectional study involved 247 University students. In comparative chi-square analysis, the association was found among different socio-demographic characteristics of the University students. The p-value < 0.05 was used to determine the association among the variables.

Conclusion: In conclusion, university students are a vulnerable group in developing obesity/overweight due to the transitional stage. Being overweight and obese was associated with being female, increased age and being married. High dietary diversity was also linked with abdominal obesity. Factors that can help describe and understand the anthropometric status of university students have also been identified. These include years of study, religion, and university location. Therefore, efforts to adopt good lifestyle behaviours should be sensitized amongst this sub-population to reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases in the long run.