Table 1 Gender distribution of dietary characteristics of a randomly selected sample of students at two universities in Bamenda, North West Region of Cameroon (NÂ =Â 906)
Variables | Males | Females | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
NÂ =Â 434 | NÂ =Â 472 | |||
n | % | n | % | |
Body mass index | ||||
 Underweight | 13 | 3.0 | 17 | 3.6 |
 Healthy weight | 315 | 72.6 | 307 | 65.0 |
 Overweight/obese | 106 | 24.4 | 148 | 31.4 |
Smoking status | ||||
 Non smoker | 393 | 90.5 | 461 | 97.7 |
 Current smoker | 25 | 5.8 | 11 | 2.3 |
 Ex-smoker | 16 | 3.7 | 0 | 0.0 |
Alcohol intake | ||||
 Never | 116 | 26.7 | 164 | 34.7 |
 Rarely | 231 | 53.2 | 273 | 57.8 |
 Two or more times a week | 87 | 20.1 | 35 | 7.4 |
Dietary regimen | ||||
 Yes | 30 | 6.9 | 42 | 8.9 |
 No | 404 | 93.1 | 430 | 91.1 |
Chronic disease | ||||
 Yes | 28 | 6.5 | 26 | 5.5 |
 No | 406 | 93.5 | 446 | 94.5 |
Eating at the university | ||||
 Three or more times a week | 154 | 35.5 | 150 | 32.2 |
 One to two times a week | 170 | 39.2 | 236 | 50.0 |
 Never | 110 | 25.3 | 84 | 17.8 |
Meals per day | ||||
 One | 36 | 8.3 | 22 | 4.7 |
 Two | 217 | 50.0 | 275 | 58.3 |
 Three | 167 | 38.5 | 149 | 31.6 |
 Greater than three | 14 | 3.2 | 26 | 5.5 |
Purchase of food | ||||
 Ready-prepared meals | 94 | 21.7 | 24 | 5.1 |
 Raw food and self-cooked | 340 | 78.3 | 448 | 94.9 |