The Level of Malnutrition and Eating Attitude Among Addis Ababa University Students, Ethiopia, A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

This study examined the magnitude of malnutrition and eating attitude among 774 senior Addis Ababa university students proportionally selected and assessed for various socio demographic and anthropometric (BMI) statuses.The strength of the association between BMI status and independent variables was identified using odds ratio in the binary logistic regression. In addition the mean eating attitude captured through Likert scales and their weighted average were used to categorize the nutritional status level of the students. The burden of malnutrition was higher among campus residents, males, age group 18-27years, year two and three, from technology faculty, income below 500 ETB, educated family and café users. The highest eating attitude score is observed in the item "I like to eat (3.19). None of the covariates had significant association with malnutrition. To improve the university environment and produce productive graduates, the prevailing nutritional problem including some of the barriers though not significantly deserves the attention of the university including the ministry of education as the problem cannot be tackled by an isolated vertical approach.