Consumption Pattern for Fruits and Vegetables of Some Filipino Adolescents in Selected Public Schools in the City of Manila

Abstract

The study aimed to: (a) determine perceptions regarding fruits and vegetables (b) identify selected practices on fruit and vegetables consumption (c) assess consumption of fruit and vegetables in terms of serving and grams per day and (d) 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 years 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 analysed using the 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 vegetables was prevalent among the study populations 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 counterparts. 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 behaviour change related to fruit and vegetable consumption among adolescent.