Healthy diet, prevalence and factors associated among adults of Nekemte dwellers, Oromia State, Western Ethiopia

Introduction. Adaption and adoption of a healthy lifestyle remain challenging worldwide. An unhealthy diet is the core risk of lifestyle illnesses. However, the status of a healthy diet and its predictors were not assessed in Nekemte town targeting middle-aged adulthoods. The study was designed to assess healthy diet, prevalence and factors associated among middle-aged adults in Nekemte town from January 15, 2019, to February 30, 2019. Materials and Methods. A descriptive epidemiological study design typically cross-sectional analysis was applied in Nekemte town on middle-aged adults. Primary data was gathered by using a questionnaire and checked for its normality. Factors associated with dependent variables were analyzed with logistic regressions and their significance was determined at P<0.05. Results. The status of dieting practice was 73.31% (unhealthy) and 26.69% (healthy), respectively. This study showed that being low income (P=0.001), not married (P=0.001), and daily meal frequency [adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.91, 95% confidence interval (CI): [1.04, 2.71]) are associated with unhealthy diets. The odds of having an unhealthy diet were almost 3 times (AOR=3.20, [95% CI: (2.04, 5.98) higher for illiterate compared to literate participants. In addition, an unhealthy diet was nearly 5 times (AOR: 4.87, 95% CI: [3.23, 7.65]) higher for having poor knowledge of healthy diet compared to alert participants. Conclusions. The researchers identified unhealthy diets practiced highly by the study samples of the populations.