Dietary Behavior among Young People in Southern Sri Lanka: implications for Sustainable Diet

Abstract

Chronic diseases have become a major threat to health of young people, and poor dietary habits are found to be one of the major modifiable risk factors of such chronic diseases. A cross sectional survey was conducted in a sample of 386 young people aged between 16-24 years, in Southern Sri Lanka, using an interviewer-administered questionnaire to describe their dietary habits according to gender, ethnicity and family income. Of the total, 198 (51.3%) were women and the mean age was 20.64 years (SD ± 2.18); 78.8% were Sinhalese, 5.2% were Tamils and 16% were Muslims. Thirty three percent (33%) of men and 22.7% of women reported eating fast foods at least three days per week (χ2= 5.058, p = 0.025), nine percent (9.2 %) of men and 4.1 % of of women reported consuming canned food at least three days per week (χ2 =3.984, p = 0.046), and thirty (30.2%) percent of men and 17.7% of women reported consuming snacks at least three days per week (χ2=7.85, p = 0.005). Overall, fruit and vegetable consumption rates were similar in the two groups; about 70% of participants reported consuming fruits and vegetables at least three days per week. Age and family income seem to be positively related to healthy dietary habits.

Although, Tamils seem to consume more vegetables and Muslims seem to consume more fruits, no significant ethnic differences of vegetable and fruit intake were found. Of the total, 56.4% of men and 76.3% of women reported that they would pay a considerable attention to the nutrient content of the food when choosing a food item to eat (p<0.05). Young men are more likely than young women to have unhealthy dietary habits. Gender specific public health dietary interventions that have taken into consideration the vital determinants of sustainable diet such as food choice, body image and affordability are needed to enhance health and economic prosperity of young people in Southern Sri Lanka.