Maria Claudia Bernardes Spexoto1, Giovana Garcia Ferin2, Juliana Alvares Duarte Bonini Campos3. 1. Departamento de Alimentos e Nutrição, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Araraquara -UNESP- Univ. Estadual Paulista. São Paulo.. spexotomariaclaudia@yahoo.com.br. 2. Farmácia Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Araraquara -UNESP- Univ. Estadual Paulista. São Paulo.. jucampos@fcfar.unesp.br. 3. Departamento de Alimentos e Nutrição, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Araraquara -UNESP-Univ. Estadual Paulista. São Paulo. Brazil.. jucampos@fcfar.unesp.br.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the concern for a healthy diet and the nutrition knowledge of undergraduate students of a pharmacology and biochemistry program and their associations with the variables of interest. METHODS: This cross-sectional study administered the Nutrition Knowledge Scale and the How is your diet? questionnaire to 381 students. The associations between concern for a healthy diet and nutrition knowledge and between these two factors and the demographic variables were measured by the chi-square test (χ2) or Fisher's exact test. The significance level was set at 5%. RESULTS: The mean age of the students was 20.6 (standard deviation [SD] = 2.7) years; 78.2% were female students; their mean body mass index was 22.6 (SD = 3.7) kg/m²; and 73.5% had an appropriate body mass index-related nutritional status. Most students fell within the category "pay attention to your diet" (77.1%) and "moderate nutrition knowledge" (79.7%). Concern for a healthy diet was significantly associated with program year (p = 0.024), socioeconomic class (p = 0.012), and physical activity (p <0.001). Nutrition knowledge was associated only with program year (p < 0.001). Concern for a healthy diet was not associated with nutrition knowledge (p = 0.808). CONCLUSION: Physically inactive, first-year students from socioeconomic class B (US$ 1,046 - 1,872) were less concerned with a healthy diet. Such concern was not related to the students' nutrition knowledge. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the concern for a healthy diet and the nutrition knowledge of undergraduate students of a pharmacology and biochemistry program and their associations with the variables of interest. METHODS: This cross-sectional study administered the Nutrition Knowledge Scale and the How is your diet? questionnaire to 381 students. The associations between concern for a healthy diet and nutrition knowledge and between these two factors and the demographic variables were measured by the chi-square test (χ2) or Fisher's exact test. The significance level was set at 5%. RESULTS: The mean age of the students was 20.6 (standard deviation [SD] = 2.7) years; 78.2% were female students; their mean body mass index was 22.6 (SD = 3.7) kg/m²; and 73.5% had an appropriate body mass index-related nutritional status. Most students fell within the category "pay attention to your diet" (77.1%) and "moderate nutrition knowledge" (79.7%). Concern for a healthy diet was significantly associated with program year (p = 0.024), socioeconomic class (p = 0.012), and physical activity (p <0.001). Nutrition knowledge was associated only with program year (p < 0.001). Concern for a healthy diet was not associated with nutrition knowledge (p = 0.808). CONCLUSION: Physically inactive, first-year students from socioeconomic class B (US$ 1,046 - 1,872) were less concerned with a healthy diet. Such concern was not related to the students' nutrition knowledge. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.