Journal of Nutrition & Food Sciences
Open Access
ISSN: 2155-9600
+32 25889658
ISSN: 2155-9600
+32 25889658
Josefina T Gonzales
Food and Nutrition Research Institute, Philippines
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Nutr Food Sci
The study aimed to determine perceptions regarding fruits and vegetables, to identify selected practices on fruit and vegetables consumption, to assess consumption of fruit and vegetables in terms of serving in grams per day and to identify factors affecting fruit and vegetable consumption. The study was conducted in seven randomly selected public schools and three public colleges in the city of Manila. Two hundred randomly selected students aged 12-16 and 17-20 years were personally interviewed using a structured questionnaire. A food frequency questionnaire was used to determine the past month�s fruit and vegetable consumption. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics, like frequencies; means and percentages, ANOVA, T-test and simple correlation were used. Results showed that inadequate consumption of vegetable was prevalent among the study population but fruit intake was higher than the Philippine recommendation. Fruit and vegetable intakes varied with age and sex. Male adolescents consumed more vegetables compared to their female counterparts. Female adolescents consumed more fruits than their male counterpart. Generally, the adolescents had a good perception of fruits and vegetables. The study concluded that Filipino adolescents are consuming substantially fewer servings of vegetables than the recommended daily allowances but fruit intake was higher than the recommended. The study advanced recommendations useful for promoting fruit and vegetable consumption among adolescents and for future studies focused on nutritional behavior change related to fruit and vegetable consumption among adolescent.
Josefina T Gonzales has completed her Diploma Course in Community Nutrition from the University of Indonesia and her Master degree in Nutrition and Health from Wageningen University and Research Center, The Netherlands. She is a registered Nutritionist-Dietitian and currently occupying a permanent position as Science Research Specialist II of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute. She has been involved in the conduct of national nutrition surveys in the Philippines as a Dietary Researcher. She is actively involved in the conduct of nutrition and health related seminars and trainings as resource
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