Socio-Demographic Factors as Determinants of Healthy Lifestyle among Students of Tertiary Institutions in Abia North Senatorial District, Abia State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study assessed socio-demographic factors as determinants of healthy lifestyle among students of tertiary institutions in Abia North Senatorial District, Abia State, Nigeria The study adopted correlational descriptive design. The study participants consisted of 18,905 students from two tertiary institutions in Abia North Senatorial District, Abia State. The sample size was 430 students of tertiary institutions drawn using proportional stratified random sampling technique. The Participant Information Form (PIF) and Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP II) were used for data collection. The internal consistency of the overall scale of the original version of the HPLP II reported a Cronbach’s alpha of .901. Data were analysed using point biserial (rbp) correlation, independent samples t-test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results showed that age and year of study are significant determinants of healthy lifestyle of students of tertiary institutions in Abia North Senatorial District. The authors recommended among others that university health services, counseling centres, and student affairs departments should tailor health programes based on significant determinants, such as age, and year of study for students of tertiary institutions, especially those aged 20 years and above and those in higher levels of study by developing targeted interventions for different age groups and academic levels, and motivate students through incentives and recognition of healthy lifestyle achievements.