Dietary Contribution of Ultra-Processed Foods Available in University Canteens to Total Energy and Nutrient Intake Among University Students

Abstract

Ultra-processed foods are increasingly consumed due to their prices, convenience and sensory appeals. University students are increasingly consuming ultra processed foods which are readily available in university canteens. The current study is done to determine how much ultra processed foods are found in university canteens contributed to student’s overall calorie and nutrient intake. The number of servings of processed foods was being associated with increased calorie consumption and additional fined sugar every day. The more body weight one had the more of these foods one was associated with eating. This demonstrates that diet and health of students can be detrimental due to consumption of processed foods in many occasions. The research indicates that we should have nutrition education and healthier choices at university cafeteria to assist students to eat nutritionally and limit their intake of processed foods. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which the people consume ultra-processed foods (UPFs) as a contribution to the total energy and nutrients. Our study involved a cross-sectional descriptive research. We surveyed 100 university students on what they consumed in terms of 24-hour recalls of diets and food frequency questionnaire covers. The foods were categorized using the NOVA system. We applied SPSS to examine the frequency of UPFs consumption and how the values of the latter are related to calories and added sugar, as well as to some nutrients. UPF constituted a large portion of the daily calorie and sugars. We have also discovered that the higher the number of UPFs consumed in a day, the greater the calories consumed on UPFs. Such results indicate that the dietary practices have the potential to increase the chances of obesity and other chronic illnesses among this group.