Life style, health seeking behaviour and nutritional status of commercial vehicle drivers in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Abstract

Background
Health seeking behaviour, lifestyle characteristics and the working conditions of commercial vehicle drivers often foster unhealthy habits and increase their vulnerability to health inequalities, including overweight, obesity, cardiovascular and metabolic disorders.
Objective
The objective of this study was to examine the life style, dietary habit, health seeking behaviour and nutritional status of commercial vehicle drivers in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Methods
This descriptive and cross-sectional study adopted a simple random sampling technique to recruit 202 commercial vehicle drivers in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. A semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on demographics, life style and health care characteristics of the commercial vehicle drivers. The anthropometric indices (weight and Height) of the drivers were obtained and their body mass index (BMI) was determined using WHO classification. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, and level of significance was set at p= 0.05.
Results
Mean age of the drivers was 43 ± 5.2 years and majority (86%) of them have completed secondary education. The majority (59%) consume soft drinks at least once per week and 85% eat at least one meal outside their home daily, while 16% and 49% patronize herbal medicine/concoction and visit the pharmacy or chemist store to purchase drugs respectively as first point of care when sick. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among the commercial drivers was 20% and 33% respectively. There was a statistically significant relationship between elevated BMI and respondent’s age (p<0.05), level of education (P=0.05), physical inactivity (P<0.01) and frequency of alcohol consumption (P<0.05).
Conclusions
This study confirms high prevalence of overweight and obesity among the commercial vehicle drivers and its associated factors of poor nutritional habits, health and life style characteristics. Therefore, a comprehensive nutritional programme including behavioural change and communication that is context-specific targeted at commercial drivers should be implemented.