Ukegbu Patricia, Nwofia Blessing, Ndudiri Uchechi, Uwakwe Nnenna, Uwaegbute Ada
1 Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria.
2 Centre of Excellence for Nutrition, North West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
Food Nutr Bull. 2019 Jun;40(2):271-281. doi: 10.1177/0379572119826464. Epub 2019 May 5.
Food insecurity is a growing public health issue and a barrier to students achieving adequate nutrition. Data regarding food insecurity among university students in Nigeria are scarce.
The study assessed the prevalence of food insecurity and associated factors among university students, southeast Nigeria.
A cross-sectional survey of 398 randomly selected students recruited from 2 universities in southeast Nigeria was conducted. Food security status was assessed using the 10-item US Household Food Security Scale Module. Anthropometric measurements and sociodemographic data were collected. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with food insecurity.
A majority of the students were categorized as food insecure. Of this, about 35.7% and 45.0% were considered to have low and very low food insecurity, respectively. Food insecurity was significantly associated with monthly allowance, daily amount spent on food, and source of income. The odds of food insecurity was significantly higher for students whose fathers were farmers (4.6, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.453-14.737), but lower for those whose mothers were farmers (0.18, 95% CI: 0.059-0.564).
The result provides an insight into the food security status of university students in Nigeria. The prevalence of food insecurity was high among the students. Therefore, further studies involving different urban and rural (and/or public and private) universities in Nigeria are suggested in order to have a deeper understanding of the magnitude and contributing factors among this population group.
粮食不安全是一个日益严重的公共卫生问题，也是学生获得充足营养的障碍。关于尼日利亚大学生粮食不安全的数据很少。
本研究评估了尼日利亚东南部大学生粮食不安全的患病率及其相关因素。
对从尼日利亚东南部2所大学随机抽取的398名学生进行了横断面调查。使用美国10项家庭粮食安全量表模块评估粮食安全状况。收集人体测量数据和社会人口统计学数据。采用多因素logistic回归分析确定与粮食不安全相关的因素。
大多数学生被归类为粮食不安全。其中，分别约有35.7%和45.0%的学生被认为粮食不安全程度较低和非常低。粮食不安全与月津贴、每日食品支出和收入来源显著相关。父亲是农民的学生粮食不安全的几率显著更高（4.6，95%置信区间[CI]：1.453 - 14.737），但母亲是农民的学生粮食不安全的几率较低（0.18，95%CI：0.059 - 0.564）。
该结果为了解尼日利亚大学生的粮食安全状况提供了依据。学生中粮食不安全的患病率很高。因此，建议在尼日利亚开展进一步研究，涵盖不同的城乡（和/或公立和私立）大学，以便更深入地了解这一人群中粮食不安全的程度及其影响因素。
