Food Consumption Pattern among Households in Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo Local Government area of Ondo State

Abstract

This study examined the food consumption pattern among households in Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State. A cross-sectional data were collected from one hundred households in the study area and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression model.  Results show that households be grouped into low, middle, and high-income groups based on income differences. The food consumption expenditure pattern analysis shows that the average monthly expenditure on food items was highest for carbohydrate foods such as rice, cassava flour, and yam flour among others while a lower percentage of their income is spent on fruit and vegetables. Also, the linear functional form indicates that household food consumption is significantly influenced by household income, household size, and educational level of the household head. The value of the coefficient of multiple determinations (R²) is 0.556 which can means that the explanatory variable accounts for 55.6% of the variation in the dependent variable. The findings of this study point to the need to educate the respondents on the importance of balance diet to meet the nutrient requirement for a healthy human development and the need to cultivate backyard farming to reduce their expenses on food that can be produced locally.