Research Article
Malnutrition, Eating Habits, Food Consumption, and Risk Factors of Malnutrition among Students at the University of Maroua, Cameroon
Table 6
Description of food habits of the students.
| | Food groups | Frequency of consumption | Overall N = 330 n (%) | Gender | Place of residence | | Men n (%) | Women n (%) | -value | Alone n (%) | With family n (%) | -value |
| | Cereals | Low | 89 (26.8) | 59 (24.6) | 29 (32.6) | 0.335 | 58 (26.2) | 30 (27.8) | 0.681 | | Moderate | 105 (31.9) | 78 (32.5) | 27 (30.3) | 74 (33.5) | 31 (28.7) | | High | 136 (41.3) | 103 (42.9) | 33 (37.1) | 89 (40.3) | 47 (43.5) |
| | Tubers | Low | 242 (73.4) | 179 (74.3) | 63 (70.7) | 0.433 | 167 (75.6) | 75 (68.8) | 0.290 | | Moderate | 64 (19.4) | 43 (17.8) | 21 (23.6) | 41 (18.6) | 23 (21.1) | | High | 24 (7.3) | 19 (7.9) | 5 (5.7) | 13 (5.9) | 11 (10.1) |
| | Pulses | Low | 226 (68.5) | 155 (64.3) | 71 (79.8) | 0.007 | 150 (67.9) | 79 (69.7) | 0.857 | | Moderate | 60 (18.2) | 46 (19.1) | 14 (15.7) | 42 (19) | 18 (16.5) | | High | 44 (13.3) | 40 (16.6) | 4 (4.5) | 29 (13.1) | 15 (13.8) |
| | Fish | Low | 188 (56.9) | 133 (55.4) | 54 (60.7) | 0.215 | 124 (56.1) | 63 (58.3) | 0.889 | | Moderate | 94 (28.6) | 68 (27.9) | 27 (30.3) | 65 (29.4) | 29 (26.9) | | High | 48 (14.6) | 40 (16.7) | 8 (9.0) | 32 (14.5) | 16 (14.8) |
| | Poultry | Low | 315 (95.5) | 228 (94.6) | 87 (97.7) | 0.220 | 208 (94.1) | 107 (98.2) | 0.251 | | Moderate | 7 (2.1) | 5 (2.1) | 2 (2.3) | 6 (2.7) | 1 (0.9) | | High | 8 (2.4) | 8 (3.3) | 0 (0) | 7 (3.2) | 1 (0.9) |
| | Red meat | Low | 198 (60) | 159 (67) | 39 (43.8) | 0.001 | 148 (67) | 50 (45.9) | 0.001 | | Moderate | 88 (26.7) | 54 (22.4) | 34 (38.2) | 48 (21.7) | 40 (36.7) | | High | 44 (13.3) | 28 (11.6) | 16 (18.0) | 25 (11.3) | 19 (17.4) |
| | Eggs | Low | 264 (80) | 205 (85) | 59 (66.3) | 0.001 | 175 (79.2) | 89 (81.7) | 0.048 | | Moderate | 44 (13.3) | 23 (9.5) | 21 (23.6) | 35 (15.8) | 9 (8.3) | | High | 22 (6.7) | 13 (5.5) | 9 (10.1) | 11 (5) | 11 (10.5) |
| | Dairy products | Low | 134 (70.9) | 179 (74.3) | 55 (61.8) | 0.023 | 158 (71.5) | 76 (69.7) | 0.946 | | Moderate | 61 (18.5) | 36 (14.9) | 25 (28.1) | 40 (18.1) | 21 (19.3) | | High | 35 (10.6) | 26 (10.8) | 9 (10.1) | 23 (10.4) | 12 (11) |
| | Fresh fruits | Low | 211 (63.9) | 205 (68.5) | 46 (51.7) | 0.006 | 147 (66.5) | 64 (58.7) | 0.260 | | Moderate | 79 (23.9) | 23 (19.5) | 32 (36.0) | 47 (21.3) | 32 (29.4) | | High | 40 (12.1) | 13 (12.0) | 11 (12.3) | 27 (12.2) | 13 (11.9) |
| | Dried fruits | Low | 280 (84.9) | 197 (81.8) | 83 (93.3) | 0.017 | 189 (85.5) | 91 (83.5) | 0.826 | | Moderate | 26 (7.9) | 21 (8.7) | 5 (5.6) | 16 (7.2) | 10 (9.2) | | High | 24 (7.3) | 23 (9.5) | 1 (1.1) | 16 (7.2) | 8 (7.3) |
| | Dried green leaves | Low | 188 (56.9) | 125 (51.9) | 63 (70.7) | 0.003 | 131 (59.3) | 57 (52.3) | 0.148 | | Moderate | 84 (25.5) | 66 (27.0) | 19 (21.3) | 49 (22.2) | 35 (32.1) | | High | 58 (17.6) | 50 (21.2) | 7 (8) | 41 (18.6) | 17 (15.6) |
| | Fresh green leaves | Low | 182 (55.1) | 134 (55.6) | 48 (54) | 0.250 | 138 (62.4) | 44 (40.4) | 0.001 | | Moderate | 89 (27.0) | 60 (24.9) | 29 (32.6) | 51 (23.1) | 38 (34.9) | | High | 59 (17.9) | 47 (19.5) | 12 (13.4) | 32 (14.5) | 27 (24.8) |
| | Others vegetables | Low | 160 (48.5) | 125 (51.9) | 35 (39.3) | 0.129 | 118 (53.4) | 42 (38.5) | 0.023 | | Moderate | 97 (29.4) | 66 (27.4) | 31 (34.8) | 62 (28.1) | 35 (32.1) | | High | 73 (22.1) | 50 (20.7) | 23 (25.8) | 41 (18.6) | 32 (29.4) |
| | Traditional meals | Low | 185 (59.5) | 127 (55.9) | 58 (69.0) | 0.015 | 128 (60.7) | 57 (57) | 0.825 | | Moderate | 68 (21.9) | 49 (21.6) | 19 (22.6) | 45 (21.3) | 23 (23) | | High | 58 (18.6) | 51 (22.5) | 7 (8.3) | 38 (18) | 20 (20) |
| | Hot drinks | Low | 171 (51.8) | 117 (48.6) | 54 (60.6) | 0.146 | 124 (56.1) | 47 (43.1) | 0.083 | | Moderate | 71 (21.5) | 55 (22.8) | 16 (18.0) | 44 (19.9) | 27 (24.8) | | High | 88 (26.7) | 69 (28.6) | 19 (21.4) | 53 (24) | 35 (32.1) |
| | Sweet foods | Low | 167 (50.6) | 126 (52.3) | 41 (46.1) | 0.574 | 115 (52) | 52 (47.7) | 0.638 | | Moderate | 88 (26.7) | 63 (26.1) | 25 (28.1) | 59 (26.7) | 29 (26.6) | | High | 75 (22.7) | 52 (21.6) | 23 (25.8) | 47 (21.3) | 28 (25.7) |
| | Alcoholic beverages | No | 225 (68.2) | 158 (65.6) | 67 (75.3) | 0.092 | 75 (68.8) | 150 (67.9) | 0.864 | | Yes | 105 (38.8) | 83 (34.4) | 22 (24.7) | 71 (32.1) | 34 (31.2) |
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Low, 0–1 time per week; moderate, 2–4 times per week; high, 5–7 times per week.
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