Vol. 2 No. 1, April 2025

Perceived Knowledge and Practice of Healthy Dietary Habits among Religious Undergraduate Students in Lagos State University, Ojo

Ogunbamowo, Waliu Babatunde, mph, phD / Akeredolu, Oluwole Ayodeji / Ashon, Daniel Oluwatobi / Odebowale, Ireti Tina, phD & Owolabi, habeeb Ladi, phD

Abstract

Healthy dietary habits are a set of food and nutrition-related actions and decisions that promote overall wellbeing and
lower the risk of diet-related illnesses. This study examined perceived knowledge and practice of healthy dietary habit
among religious undergraduate students in Lagos State University. Descriptive research design was used while 450
religious undergraduate students purposively sampled. The research instrument was a self-developed “Healthy Dietary
Habit Questionnaire (HDHQ)” The reliability of the instrument was achieved using the test- retest method while Chronbach
Alpha test and r-value of 0.86 was obtained. Chi-Square (X2) test was used for all stated hypotheses at 0.05 level of
significance. In conclusion this study found that there was significant knowledge (X2=173.46, p<0.05 at 120) and practice
X2=82.160, p<0.05 of healthy dietary habit among religious undergraduates in Lagos State University, Ojo. Therefore, it was
recommended that religious Communities on campus should take it upon themselves to enable and empower their faithful on
the need to feed on healthy diet and occasionally set the pace of what is healthy diet for consumption like avoiding serving of
high caloric meals and drinks in functions.

Keywords

knowledge, practice, healthy dietary habit, and religious undergraduates

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