Influence of Media Messages on Healthy Eating Practices among Female Postgraduate Students of Daystar University, Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

This study sought to investigate the influence of media messages on healthy eating practices among female postgraduate students of Daystar University, Nairobi. The researcher gathered data using purposive sampling technique to obtain the desired number of respondents. Stratified sampling ensured adequate representation of students in strata produced from the six postgraduate programs offered at Daystar University. Questionnaires were administered to 90 participants but only 76 respondents filled and returned them. The data collected was analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. The majority of respondents chose exposure to media (48.7%) since it influenced their use of media in seeking messages on healthy eating practices compared to gender (28.9%) and age (22.4%). In addition, the majority of the respondents strongly agreed that internet (M=1.82, SD=0.890) was more useful in promoting messages on healthy eating practices compared to magazines (M=2.01, SD=0.959), television (M=2.13, SD=1.011), newspapers (M=2.38, SD=0.923) and radio (M=2.84, SD=1.059). Furthermore, the majority found satisfaction from the recipe sections in magazines/newspapers (M=1.78, SD=0.888), internet messages (M=1.79, SD=0.957), television food adverts (M=2.09, SD=0.926), and radio messages (M=2.39, SD=1.047). Additionally, a positive correlation was observed between the types of healthy eating messages and the satisfaction obtained from watching food advertisements on TV. The study recommends that health communicators and journalists develop messages and use the media to disseminate the messages so as to motivate healthier eating practices. Future research could look into exploring the satisfaction obtained from using the internet as a means of communicating messages on healthy eating practices.