Abstract

There are great concerns in Nigeria about lifestyle diseases which are now emerging among adolescent school children due to emphasis on the food taste rather than nutritional value of the food. Survey of the consumption pattern of junk foods among adolescent school children drawn from both public and private school in Ukwuani LGA of Delta State, Nigeria was carried out. The study sample is class three (3) of the Junior Secondary School (JSS 3) using random sampling techniques. Early stages in human development often mark the harbinger of overweight in school children because most of them at this age could hardly resist the attraction and urge to consume junk food. Survey analyses show an average consumption of 92.78% as against 7.22% non-consumption of junk food. The mean and standard deviation based on daily consumption of junk foods commonly found in schools within the region was 2.36 and 0.74, while that of weekly consumption was 2.56 and 0.85, respectively. There is negligible significant difference between daily or weekly consumption of these food types. The mean and standard  deviation  of  junk  food  intake was  correlated  with  weight  and  height  of  the  students  in computing the body mass index (BMI). The bio-data was statistically analyzed using students t-test and the null hypothesis was rejected. By implication, it was shown that junk food consumption influences the anthropometric index of the study sample. The consumption of junk food by adolescent school children as indicated by the results show that it has a considerable effect on the BMI and other consequent health implications.

Key words: Junk food, overweight, height, consumption pattern, adolescent, calories.