IMPACT OF ACADEMIC STRESS ON THE NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN KOGI STATE NIGERIA

Abstract

Academic stress can endanger physical and mental health. This study aims to assess the impact of academic stress on the nutritional status of undergraduates in Kogi State, Nigeria. The longitudinal study was conducted among 134 Undergraduates selected from two Universities in the State. A four-sectioned questionnaire was used to collect data on the dietary pattern, socio-economic, demographic, household characteristics variables and academic stress score of all respondents. The anthropometric indices of the participants were determined in the first week of resumption and after 100 days of academic activities on campus. Data analysis was done using the 26.0 version of the SPSS software. The results indicated that 8.2% of the study population are highly stressed, while 44.77% and another 44.77% of the respondents are slightly and moderately stressed, respectively. More than half of the respondents (68.7%) had a normal weight, 22.4% were underweight, 6% were overweight, while 2.9% had class I and class II obesity. After 100 days on campus, the hip, waist circumference, and BMIs of the respondents were significantly (p < 0.001) reduced. The decrease in BMI correlates significantly (p<0.05) with the prevalence of academic stress among the respondents. No significant correlation was found between perceived stress, gender (p = 0.813), age group (p = 0.113), field of study (p = 0.750), and year of education (p = 0.626). This study revealed that the incidence of academic stress among undergraduates in Kogi State is significantly high. We recommend the development of special intervention programs tailored towards identifying and alleviating individual sources of academic stress among these undergraduates.