EXPOSURE TO INTERNET WELLNESS INFORMATION ON INSTANT NOODLES CONSUMPTION AND DIETARY CHANGE AMONG UNDERGRADUATES IN SOUTHEAST NIGERIA

EXPOSURE TO INTERNET WELLNESS INFORMATION ON INSTANT NOODLES CONSUMPTION AND DIETARY CHANGE AMONG UNDERGRADUATES IN SOUTHEAST NIGERIA

Background of the Study

The advent of the internet has brought about a change in the way tasks are carried out and how information about different subjects are obtained. In Nigeria, there has been a 3 steady increase in the number of people that have access to the Internet. Statistics from Internet world stat(2017), has shown that Nigeria ranks 8th among the top 20 global Internet users, while data from the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS) showed that Lagos State leads in terms of internet usage in Nigeria. The Internet appears to have become an imperative tool for disseminating health information (Vance, Howe and Dellavalle, 2009). According to Richards, Colman, and Hollingsworth (1998), Internet-based health information has the capability to appeal to consumers with different learning styles. It merges the expansive reach merits of mass communication channels with the persuasion features of interpersonal channels by giving room for feedbacks between the message, sender and receiver. (Cassell, Jackson and Cheuvront, 1998). Consumers can also access health information in the privacy of their homes at convenient times via the Internet. Consumers want information about prevention, both for self-care and to participate in a more informed way in their healthcare (Yuri Quintana, Feightner, Wathen, Sangster and Marshall, 2001). An increasing proportion of the public is using the Internet for healthcare information (Sarasohn-Kahn, 2012; Elkin 2008; Forkner-Dunn, 2003). The contemporary university student appears more technology savvy than those students who came before them, and even more so than some of their professors. For today’s university students “computers and all their associated applications existed in the world they were born into; computers are as much an accepted part of their environment as were telephones to the faculty who teach them” (Hagner, 2001). The 4 Internet has increasingly been used to promote health behaviour. Young people may be especially vulnerable to problems with regard to online health information seeking (Escoffery, Miner and Adame, 2005). The Internet is likely an especially important source of health information for young people in particular, given that they are often concerned with issues that may be sensitive and hard to talk about, and because many young people have not yet established a relationship with a doctor other than their family doctor. The implications of this are unclear. Increased access to health information could create a more informed and healthful youth. On the other hand, if the quality of online information is not high or the source unknown, increased reliance on the Internet could lead to greater misinformation and skepticism (Rideout, 2001). Young people constitute a heterogeneous group, and whether online health information seeking leads to an informed or a misinformed youth is likely to be a function of an individual’s age, maturity, cognitive development, and information literacy (Eastin, 2001). Health information-seeking behaviour varies depending on the age of the youth. Instant noodles are a precooked and usually dried noodles block, sold with flavouring powder and/or seasoning oil. The flavouring is usually in a separate packet, although in the case of cup noodles the flavouring is often loose in the cup. Some instant noodles products are seal packed; these can be reheated or eaten straight from the packet. Dried noodles blocks are cooked or soaked in boiling water before eating. The main ingredients used in dried noodles are wheat flour, palm oil, and salt. Common ingredients in the flavouring powder are salt, monosodium glutamate, seasoning, and 5 sugar. Instant noodles were invented by Momofuku Ando (born Go Pek-Hok) of Nissin Foods in Japan. They were launched in 1958 under the brand name Chikin Ramen. In 1971, Nissin introduced Cup Noodles, a dried noodles block in a polystyrene cup (It is referred to as Cup Ramen in Japan). Instant noodles are marketed worldwide under many brand names. Since instant noodles made its way into our kitchens a few years ago, it has been a lot of relief for bachelors, spinsters and families seeking a ‘quick fix’ for their hunger. Admittedly, it is an instant remedy for hunger, without having to wait for minutes or hours the time it takes to get a meal ready.

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