Quality Evaluation of Sachet and Bottled Water in Isuochi Town of Abia State - South East Nigeria

Bottled and sachet water were purchased from nine (9) different communities in Isuochi town of Abia state. Physicochemical and microbiological analyses were carried out to ascertain their wholesomeness using standard analytical methods. Appearance, odour, taste, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), pH, conductivity, Total Hardness (TH), alkalinity, chloride, cadmium of all the sachet and bottled water were within the WHO, NAFDAC/SON guideline whereas chemical constituents namely zinc (2.25-41.97 mg/l), copper (1.14-5.03mg/l), calcium (2.02 – 677.4 mg/l), magnesium (0.33 – 131.32 mg/l) and iron (7.99 – 19.35 mg/l) in few samples were above the SON/NAFDAC and WHO recommended limits of 3 – 5 mg/, 1.0 mg/l, 75 mg/l, 0.2 – 0.025 mg/l and 0.3 mg/l respectively. Four out of the whole brands examined had lead levels ranging from 0.19 – 1.67 mg/l. These values were above the SON/NAFDAC and WHO recommended limits of 0.002 – 0.01 mg/l and 0.001 mg/l respectively. Also, eight out of the twenty-five satchet and bottled water were contaminated by coliform bacteria ranging from 1 – 26 cfu/ml. Escherichia coli ranging from 1 – 28 cfu/100ml were detected in more than 40% of the water samples. This is contrary to the recommendation by SON/NAFDAC that E. coli must not be detected in a 100 ml sof drinking water. However, on the average, both the bottled and sachet water were of good quality. Keywords: Quality, evaluation, sachet, bottled, water, physicochemical

Obesity and associated factors in young adults attending tertiary institutions in south-eastern Nigeria

Objective: To assess prevalence of overweight/obesity and associated factors in a group of university undergraduates in south-east Nigeria.Design: Cross-sectional survey.Setting: Five tertiary institutions in south-east Nigeria.Methods: A total of 1610 undergraduates were selected using multistage sampling. A validated questionnaire on sociodemographic, dietary and lifestyle factors was used. Variables studied included body mass index (BMI), waist:hip ratio (WHR) and blood pressure (BP). Descriptive statistics and Chi square test were used for data analyses.Results: Prevalence of obesity and overweight were 6.5% [4.2% males; 8.4% females (p < 0.05)] and 13.4% [8.4% males; 17.7% females (p < 0.05)], respectively. A higher prevalence of central obesity and abdominal obesity was found in the females (15.7% and 27.2%, respectively) compared to the males (1.1% and 2.4%, respectively) (p < 0.05). Consumption of unhealthy snack foods (X2 = 13.39), being a female (X2 = 47.91), first year student (X2 = 41.82), and having high systolic (X2 = 88.18) and diastolic (X2 = 10.17) BP were associated with obesity (p < 0.05).Conclusions: Prevalence of obesity was high in the studied population and, if left unchecked, portends deleterious consequences, especially with respect to the development of cardiovascular diseases.Keywords: association, obesity, overweight, socio-demographic factors, young adult