2015 Volume 38 Issue 1 Pages 065-071
The study examined the nutritional status of farm families in Oriade Local Government Area (LGA) of Osun State, Nigeria. Structured questionnaires were administered to 110 respondents who were randomly selected from 3 villages from the LGA using multistage random sampling techniques. These villages were Ijebu-Ijesha, IlokoIjesha and Iwoye-Ijesha. However, 97 questionnaires were eventually retrieved for the study analysis. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean, frequency counts and percentages. Findings reveal that 60.0% of the respondents were between the age range of 41-60 years and most (81.4%) operate a nuclear family system with moderate household members of not more than ten (90.8%). Majority of the respondents were male, married and had formal education. Chi-Square analysis shows a significant relationship between some socio-economic characteristics of the farm families such as educational level and occupation, and their knowledge on food nutrition. However, a major constraint to good nutritional pattern among the farm families in the study area was lack of knowledge on the nutritive values of the classes of food especially minerals and fats and oil. Agricultural researchers and extension workers in conjunction with health practitioners will therefore find the results of this study helpful in their tasks to improve food and nutrient intake of farm families in the rural communities.
