ASSESSMENT OF NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND KNOWLEDGE OF STUDENTS FROM SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SOKOTO METROPOLIS, SOKOTO STATE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT The significance of improving nutrition knowledge in order to have a positive influence on food choices and health should not be underestimated. This study assessed the nutritional status and knowledge of school children attending selected secondary schools in Sokoto metropolis. The study population was purposively drawn from secondary school students in Nigeria attending Federal Government College and State Government-owned schools. Four secondary schools were used for the study: Federal Government College (FGC), Sani Dingyadi Secondary School (SDUSS), Nagarta Secondary School (NSS) and Army Day Secondary School (ADSS). A sample of 240 school students, aged 10 to 25 years participated in the study. The measuring instruments included a questionnaire to determine the nutrition knowledge of the students. Anthropometric measurements included weight, height and mid-upper arm circumference, measured using standard methodologies. The mean age recorded for male and female students were 18.0±1.90 and 15.7±1.20 years, respectively. The result showed that 27.9% were underweight, 7.5% overweight and 64.6% had normal BMI status. Nutritional status was significantly related with sex (χ 2 = 16.169, p<0.05) but not with age (χ 2 = 1.368, p>0.05). The prevalence of underweight was higher among the males (33.9%) compared to the females (13.9%), while more females were overweight (15.3%) compared to the males (4.2%). Seventy one percent performed poorly in the nutrition knowledge assessment rating. The overall performance of the female students was significantly higher (χ 2 = 46.386; P<0.05) than their male counterparts. Furthermore, 5, 12 and 12% had excellent, very good and good nutrition knowledge, respectively, while 33% and 38% had fair and poor nutrition knowledge, respectively. The results further revealed that the students were deficient in knowledge and understanding of the facts about energy and nutritive values of foods. Therefore, adequate nutrition education is needed at the secondary school level; this will enable the students to make good food choices and positively influence their eating habits thereby ensuring better nutritional status

Industrial Potential of Two Varieties of Cocoyam in Bread Making

The evaluation of the chemical (proximate composition, mineral composition, toxicant composition and vitamin composition), nutritional and industrial potentials of two varieties of cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittifolium (XS) and Colocasia esculenta (CE) were carried out using recommended methods of analysis. Baking trials were conducted with the two varieties of cocoyam at different levels of substitution (20%, 30% and 50%). The produced bread samples were analyzed for their physical parameters and proximate composition. Sensory evaluation test was also carried out on the produced bread. The result of the analysis showed that the preferred bread in terms of loaf weight, volume and specific volume was given by sample I (control sample) containing 100% wheat flour with a specific volume of 3.54 cm3/g. This was closely followed by sample A with specific volume of 3.25 cm3/g containing 20% substitution level of CE. Sample H containing 50% substitution level of XS with specific volume of 2.58 cm3/g gave the poorest performance. The sensory evaluation result further revealed that apart from the 100% wheat flour based sample I, sample D with 20% substitution level of XS was rated good and maintained better performance amongst the cocoyam varieties while samples G and C with 100% and 50% substitution level of CE respectively were rated the poorest. The proximate composition of the bread samples was also carried out. CE, XS and wheat bread samples (100%) recorded 15.0633±1.4531, 12.1133±1.5975 and 11.2867±0.7978 respectively for the moisture content. XS bread recorded the highest carbohydrate content of 45.0133±3.0274. In terms of ash, CE bread recorded the highest value of 31.4367±1.6159 while wheat bread recorded the highest value for protein i.e. 20.6033± 0.8113. XS performed better in terms of crude fat and energy value of 12.2967± 0.8914 and 371.5367 respectively. The use of cocoyam - wheat flour mixture in producing composite bread is therefore strongly recommended from this study

Association between Dietary Nitrate, Nitrite Intake, and Site-Specific Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: People consume nitrates, nitrites, nitrosamines, and NOCs compounds primarily through processed food. Many studies have yielded inconclusive results regarding the association between cancer and dietary intakes of nitrates and nitrites. This study aimed to quantify these associations across the reported literature thus far. Methods: We performed a systematic review following PRISMA and MOOSE guidelines. A literature search was performed using Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, the Cochrane library, and google scholar up to January 2020. STATA version 12.0 was used to conduct meta-regression and a two-stage meta-analysis. Results: A total of 41 articles with 13 different cancer sites were used for analysis. Of these 13 cancer types/sites, meta-regression analysis showed that bladder and stomach cancer risk was greater, and that pancreatic cancer risk was lower with increasing nitrite intakes. Kidney and bladder cancer risk were both lower with increasing nitrate intakes. When comparing highest to lowest (reference) categories of intake, meta-analysis of studies showed that high nitrate intake was associated with an increased risk of thyroid cancer (OR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.77). When pooling all intake categories and comparing against the lowest (reference) category, higher nitrite intake was associated with an increased risk of glioma (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.22). No other associations between cancer risk and dietary intakes of nitrates or nitrites were observed. Conclusion: This study showed varied associations between site-specific cancer risks and dietary intakes of nitrate and nitrite. Glioma, bladder, and stomach cancer risks were higher and pancreatic cancer risk was lower with higher nitrite intakes, and thyroid cancer risk was higher and kidney cancer risk lower with higher nitrate intakes. These data suggest type- and site-specific effects of cancer risk, including protective effects, from dietary intakes of nitrate and nitrite