Considering that Sokoto metropolis is located in the dry savannah region
where for the most part of the year the temperature is always high, nonalcoholic
beverages (NABs) and fruit consumption will be expected to be
high, at least to cool down the body temperature and compensate the body
loss of minerals. Surprisingly, there is a scarcity of documented information
on the consumption pattern of these products in the metropolis. This study,
therefore, examined patterns of household-level consumption of fruit and
NABs in Sokoto metropolis. It also compared the consumption pattern of
these products across some household socioeconomic variables. The
Metropolis was grouped into four clusters with one hundred households
randomly selected from each cluster. Data were collected with the aid of a
structured food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Descriptive and chi-square
analytical tools were used to analyse the data. The results showed that 75%
of the respondents consumed fruit regularly (at least once a week). Of the
NABs, the bottled soda is the most regularly consumed with 63% of the
respondents. The chi-square results showed that the consumption of fresh
fruit and bottled soda were significantly related to sex, ethnicity, location,
education and economic status of the household heads. The age of the
household heads showed a significant relationship with the consumption of
fresh fruit only, while tetra pak juice was significant only with ethnic
variables. Consumption frequency of NABs showed no significant
relationship with household sizes. It could be concluded that fruits and NABs
were widely accepted in the study area as a means of hydration and source
of nutrient .The study recommends that there is the need to put measures
that will increase the income of the people and reduce the cost of juice
beverages; as it has been shown that the consumption of this very important
beverage is low. Also, bottled soda should be fortified with healthy nutrients
as this will helps reduce malnutrition among the populace and to stimulate
demand.