Fruits and vegetables consumption among students studying in Universiti Brunei Darussalam

                         

Maisarah SHARIF, Siti Rohaiza AHMAD, David KOH

Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah (PAPRSB) Institute of Health Sciences (IHS), Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Darussalam

 

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Consumption of fruits and vegetables (FV) is an essential part of a healthy diet. It is an important step to reduce prevalence of non-communicable diseases. The aim of this research was to study FV consumption among Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) students, mainly from two of the faculties: Institute of Health Science (IHS) and Faculty of Art and Social Sciences (FASS). Another objective of this study was to assess the knowledge and practice (including barriers) of FV intake among the students. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted among UBD students using a self-administered 24 hours recall questionnaire. Three-hundred-and-twenty-six participants (154 from IHS and 172 from FASS) were selected through convenient sampling. Results: Two-hundred-and sixty-three participants (80.7%) do not know the recommended daily FV intake. There was no difference in knowledge on recommended daily fruits intake (p=0.158), however, there is a significant difference in knowledge on recommended daily vegetables intake between the two faculties (p=0.005). A total of 215 participants (71.2%) from both faculties consumed one-and-a-half or less serving of fruits while 219 participants (71.0%) consumed one-and-a-half or fewer servings of vegetables the day before. Fruits were preferably consumed as snacks while vegetables were preferred during lunch and dinner. Some of the barriers to consumption identified include household’s choice, time and skills to prepare FV, quality, and variety of FV. Conclusion: Majority of the students were not aware of the recommended amount of daily FV intake and most were consuming less than two servings of FV per day. Therefore, intervention is required to increase FV consumption.

 

Keywords: Fruits, vegetable, intake, knowledge, awareness

 

Correspondence author: Hjh Maisarah Hj Sharif, Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah, (PAPRSB) Institute of Health Sciences (HIS), Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Darussalam

E mail: 13b2026@ubd.edu.bn, sarah-sharif@live.com

 

Brunei Int Med J. 2016; 12 (2): 70-77

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