SOURCE:

Faculty: Social Sciences
Department: Mass Communication

CONTRIBUTORS:

Gloria N. Chukwuemeka
Adum N. Allen

ABSTRACT:

This study focused on exposure to Internet wellness information on instant noodles consumption
and dietary change among undergraduates in Southeast Nigeria. With the avalanche of Internet wellness information available to young people who have been shown to be Internet savvy, chances are that they are likely to come across information about instant noodles being unhealthy processed food. However, it has not been properly established in literature whether exposure to such information about instant noodles being unhealthy processed food can lead to informed dietary change. More so, as the prevailing lifestyle of undergraduates make them dependent on instant noodles as fast food. Hence, this study determined how exposed these undergraduates are to Internet wellness information; to discover the rate of instant noodles consumption among them; to assess their level of knowledge on the health implications of consumption of instant noodles; and to discover the extent their exposure to Internet wellness information induces dietary behaviour change amongst them. The study employed the mixed method of survey research design and Focus Group Discussion. A sample of 400 undergraduates was selected from five federal universities in Southeast Nigeria using Cochran method. The instruments for survey and focus group discussion (FGD) were the questionnaire and FGD Guide respectively. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were the method of analysis used. Research hypotheses were tested using Chi-square. The findings showed high Internet exposure as a source of wellness information. The study also found that Internet wellness information induces dietary behaviour change. Hence, the study concluded that increased exposure to negative information about a product reduces the chances of its continued consumption. The study also recommended that as part of its corporate social responsibility to its consumers, the media (both print and electronic) should from time to time sensitize consumers on the unhealthy nature of the consumption of processed food in this age of “fast food” syndrome.