Impact of nutritional knowledge on food consumption behaviour among tertiary students in Kenya

This paper focuses on nutrition knowledge and its impact on consumer behaviour of tertiary students living and studying in Nairobi, Kenya. This survey was carried out in Nairobi, Kenya to find out the impact of nutrition knowledge on the consumption behaviour of tertiary students living and studying there. Consumer behaviour, with regard to nutrition knowledge, has been made a bit easier by people targeting seasonal foods while they are still cheap and easily available. The data collection tool was a self-administered questionnaire. The study involved 395 participants. The data was analysed using SPSS for descriptive statistics, including frequencies, cross-tabulations and correlations. The results showed that the students had some basic nutrition knowledge of food and they used their knowledge when buying food for consumption. The results showed that many of the students do not mind spending money on a balanced meal. The amount of pocket money per term was the main determinant of what food they purchased and whether they bought ready-made food or prepared it. Recommendations were made for the food industry to address the factors influencing food purchase and consumption when strategising on how to attract new and maintain old customers from the student body.