Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Adolescent Secondary School Students in Boukombe and Natitingou, North Benin

Melina Maureen Houndolo (), Sam Bodjrenou, Irmgard Jordan, Elianna Majaliwa, Elie Koukou, Kandala Ngianga-Bakwin, Colette Azandjeme, Melanie Nyambura Katsivo, Céline Termote and Waliou Amoussa Hounkpatin
Additional contact information
Melina Maureen Houndolo: International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cotonou 08 P.O. Box 932, Benin
Sam Bodjrenou: International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cotonou 08 P.O. Box 932, Benin
Irmgard Jordan: Bioversity International, Nairobi P.O. Box 823-00621, Kenya
Elianna Majaliwa: Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences Abomey-Calavi, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, Abomey Calavi 01 P.O. Box 526, Benin
Elie Koukou: International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cotonou 08 P.O. Box 932, Benin
Kandala Ngianga-Bakwin: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatitics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5C1, Canada
Colette Azandjeme: Institut Régional de Santé Publique, Ouidah P.O. Box 384, Benin
Melanie Nyambura Katsivo: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatitics, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5C1, Canada
Céline Termote: Bioversity International, Nairobi P.O. Box 823-00621, Kenya
Waliou Amoussa Hounkpatin: Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences Abomey-Calavi, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, Abomey Calavi 01 P.O. Box 526, Benin

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 5, 1-16

Abstract: Fruit and vegetables (F&V) are recommended for a healthy life. Adolescence is a critical period for the onset of eating disorders and future health. F&V consumption among adolescents is globally low, making this group a key target for diet/nutrition-related interventions. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess F&V consumption among secondary school students in the food-insecure communes of Boukombe (rural) and Natitingou (urban), Benin. Using probabilistic random sampling, 303 students completed F&V intake frequency questionnaires and 24-h dietary recalls on school and non-school days. Poisson models identified factors associated with F&V consumption. The results showed that only 8.8% (Boukombe) and 11% (Natitingou) of students consumed fruit at least twice per day, and over 80% of students had not eaten fruit in the preceding 24 h; 9.9% and 11.4%, respectively, consumed vegetables at least twice per day. On average, 45.5% of students in Boukombe and 68% in Natitingou consumed at least three types of vegetables on school days. The most commonly consumed fruits were oranges in Boukombe and lemons in Natitingou. Factors influencing fruit consumption included sex ( p = 0.005), age ( p = 0.04), and mothers’ occupation ( p = 0.03) on school days/and school or non-school days, while commune ( p = 0.00017) and ethnic group affected vegetable consumption. Such low F&V consumption among surveyed students is a matter of public health concern, as it is likely to affect their health―in terms of micronutrient deficiency―and intellectual performance. These results should incentivize nutrition researchers, project managers, public health officials, and policymakers to (re)design and implement broader measures targeting secondary school students’ dietary practices to increase their F&V consumption.

Keywords: adolescents; fruit and vegetables; secondary school students; Boukombe; Natitingou; micronutrient deficiencies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/5/767/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/5/767/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:5:p:767-:d:1654737

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().