Physical characteristics of students’ residential environment in relation to dietary habits in University of Ilorin, Nigeria

Abstract

The design of students’ residential environment has implication on their dietary habits. This study, which was conducted through a cross-sectional survey of students’ resident on-campus, describes the physical characteristics of students’ residential environment in relation to dietary habits in University of Ilorin, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted and twelve (12) residence halls were purposively selected out of the twenty (20) residence halls on campus based on three criteria, namely: ownership, gender and design type. The systematic selection of 12% of students in each of the twelve (12) residence halls gave a total of 430 students that were used in the study. The data for the study were collected through the use of self-administered questionnaire and personal observation. Statistical analysis was done using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) software. The analytical tools used for the study were mainly descriptive statistics such as frequency tables and percentages. The result of the data analysis revealed that most (67%) of the residence halls had kitchen en suite design and most (92%) had butteries and restaurants within them to enhance the cooking and eating habits of students. The result also revealed that most of the food outlets (72%) in the residential environment were mainly butteries and snack shops while few were restaurants (18%). The study recommends that developers and stakeholders in student housing should pay more attention to the provision of facilities such as kitchens and restaurants that would enhance the cooking and eating of students within the residential environment.

Keywords: Students’ residential environment, Physical characteristics, University students, Cooking and eating