Lifestyle and fruit consumption: an investigation of university students in Uganda

Abstract Purpose Healthy food consumption involves regular fruit intake. Inadequate fruit consumption is associated with disease burdens such as cancer, hypertension, stroke, and diabetes. As such, an individual may choose to avoid health repercussions by adjusting his/her lifestyle. Individuals with long-term healthy lifestyle habits are likely high fruit consumers. However, few studies seem to have focused on the relationship certain aggregated lifestyle factors i.e. screen time; physical exercise; work, and sleep have with fruit consumption. Thus, the study sought to investigate the relationship between these aggregated lifestyle factors and fruit consumption of university students in Uganda. Methods The study used a correlational survey that was quantitative in nature. The study population covered 59,998 university students. We sampled 403 students using proportionate stratified random sampling. We collected data through face-to-face interviews using a questionnaire. We analyzed the data using SPSS (V23) and AMOS (V23) software for correlational and Confirmatory factor tests. Results The results revealed that a university student’s lifestyle significantly influenced his/her fruit consumption (β = 5.470, t-value = 5.481, p-value = 0.000). The squared Multiple Correlation is 0.176. Conclusion Considering the health benefits of fruit consumption and basing on the study results, health educators need to encourage the fruit consumption through adjusting one’s lifestyle (exercises, screen time, work life and sleep time).