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

INTRODUCTION

E-Health literacy is a term that describes the relatively modern concept of an individual's ability to search for, successfully access, comprehend, and appraise desired health information from electronic sources and then use such information to attempt to address a particular health problem (Norman and Skinner, 2006). Due to the increasing influence of the internet for information-seeking and health information dissemination, e-Health literacy has become an important topic of research in recent years.

Stellefson, Hanik, Chaney, Chaney, Tennant and Chavarria (2011:2) state that “eight out of ten Internet users report that they have at least searched online for health information, making it the third most popular Web activity next to checking email and using search engines in terms of activities that almost everybody has done”.

Though in recent years, individuals may have gained access to a multitude of health information via the Internet; access alone does not ensure that proper search skills and techniques are being used to find the most relevant online and electronic resources.

Access also does not imply appropriate use of information and possible positive responses. The quantity of relevant, misleading and incomplete information available online especially with regards to health issues has also been a major source of concern to scholars and health workers.

Eating instant noodles one of the popular fast foods now in Nigeria is often a way of life for students; their busy lifestyle and multitasks, making healthy choices in terms of food consumption dependent on available knowledge of what constitutes healthy eating. Where this knowledge is lacking, "fast foods" are often the selected choice and eating healthy becomes less of a priority.

The Internet is replete with wellness information along the line of healthy or healthful eating and as such contains health wellness information relating to fast foods such as instant noodles. This makes the possibility of Internet-savvy students chancing upon materials that suggest how to eat healthily, very likely. It is within the context of this possibility and the anecdotal evidence of criticisms concerning the health status of instant noodles and the increasing use of this fast food, that this work examines students’ exposure to Internet Wellness information, regarding this fast food. The intention is to ascertain whether the extent of exposure to Internet wellness information concerning instant noodles, has resulted in creating any attitudinal change in their diet and consumption of this fast food.