FOOD CULTER KNOWLEDGE AND EATING PRACTICES AMONG MEDICAL COLLEGE STUDENTS IN DUHOK
Keywords:
Body mass index, Eating habits, Medical students
Abstract
https://doi.org/10.31386/dmj.2023.17.2.10
Background: Poor nutritional behavior is a major public health problem among young adults who experience the transition into university life, as this time is associated with unhealthy lifestyle characteristics. This study aimed to assess the pattern of eating habits among medical students, to increase their awareness of the food pyramid and encourage them to apply it and increase their awareness of the benefits of healthy eating for physical and mental health.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional faculty-based study conducted among 650 medical students of both genders in all six grades of the College of Medicine/ University of Duhok. The questionnaire was composed of close-ended questions on socio-demographics, eating habits, and knowledge assessment factors, as well as weight and height. Body mass index (BMI) was used to assess students' weight status.
Results: The study revealed that 68.2% had normal BMI, 10.6% had low BMI, 16% had high BMI and 5.2% had very high BMI. A total of 64.5% had good knowledge of the food pyramid, while 56% did not know the required calories per day. Fifty-seven percent were on three meals daily and preferred homemade meals. Nearly three-quarters like fast food and crispy food. 50.3% used to skip breakfast. 45.4% used to eat an extra meal before sleeping time. 47.4% prefer salty food. 57.4% used to eat salads with meals and 84.8% eat fruits usually.
Conclusions: Many medical students of both genders have unhealthy dietary habits, in addition to insufficient knowledge of the food pyramid and required daily calories. Medical students need preuniversity and college-based plans and counseling on nutrition.
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References
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2. Anonymous what-is-food-culture [Internet].Accessed 2022Jan 2. Available from https://thewellco.co ›.
3. Dolores CSJ, Ed. Nutrition and Wellbeing A to Z. Detroit (USA): Thompson Gale:2004.
4. Nelson MC, Story M, Larson NI, NeumarkSztainer D, Lytle LA. Emerging adulthood and college‐aged youth: an overlooked age for weight‐related behavior change. Obesity. 2008; 16(10): 2205–2211. doi:10.1038/oby.2008.365 [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar].
5. Musaiger AO, Kalam F. Dietary habits and lifestyle among adolescents in Damascus, Syria. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2014; 21:2. doi:10.5604/1232-1966.1108616 [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
6. Sogari G, Velez-Argumedo C, Gómez M, Mora C. College students and eating habits: a study using an ecological model for healthy behavior. Nutrients. 2018;10(12):1823. doi:10.3390/nu10121823 [PMC free article] [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
7. Brevard, P. B. Ricketts, C. D.: Residence of college students affects dietary intake, physical activity, and serum lipid levels. J Am Diet Assoc.1996: 35–38
8. Pan Y, Dixon, Z humbug, S Huffman, F Asian students change their eating patterns after living in the United States. Am Diet Assoc.1999, 99. 54–57
9. Papadaki, A., Scott, J. A.: The impact of eating habits of temporary translocation from a Mediterranean to a Northern European environment. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 56, 2002, pp. 455–461.
10. Nicklas, T. A., Baranowski, T., Cullen, K. W., Berenson, G.: Eating patterns, dietary quality and obesity. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 20, 2001, pp. 599–608
11. Al-Qahtani MH. Dietary habits of Saudi medical students at University of Dammam. Int J Health Sci. 2016; 10(3): 353–362. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar].
12. Mikolajczyk RT, El Ansari W, Maxwell AE. Food consumption frequency and perceived stress and depressive symptoms among students in three European countries. BMC Nutr. 2009; 8(1): 31. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar].
13. Sakamaki R, Toyama K, Amamoto R, Liu C-J, Shinfuku N. Nutritional knowledge, food habits and health attitude of Chinese university students–a cross sectional study. BMC Nutr. 2005;4(1):4. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar].
14. Bakr EM, Ismail NA, Mahaba HM. Impact of life style on the nutritional status of medical students at Ain Shams University. J Egypt Pub Health Assoc. 2002;77(1-2):29–49. [PubMed] [Google Scholar].
15. Fala Bede, Samuel Nambile Cumber, Claude Ngwayu Nkfusai, Mbinkar Adeline Venyuy, Yunga Patience Ijang, Emerson Njokah Wepngong, “et al”. Dietary habits and nutritional status of medical school students: the case of three state universities in Cameroon. Pan Afr Med J. 2020; 35: 15. Published online 2020 Jan 23. doi: 10.11604/pamj.2020.35.15.18818.
16. Tok Chen Yun, Siti Rohaiza Ahmad, and David Koh Soo Quee. Dietary Habits and Lifestyle Practices among University Students in Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Malays J Med Sci. 2018 May; 25(3): 56–66. Published online 2018 Jun 28. doi: 10.21315/mjms2018.25.3.6
17. Sami H Alzahrani, Abdulmajeed Abdulaziz Saeedi, Maan Khaleed Baamer, Abdullah Faisal Shalabi, and Abdullah M Alzahrani. Eating Habits Among Medical Students at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Published 5 March 2020 Volume 2020:13 Pages 77—88. DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S246296
18. Al-Rethaiaa AS, Fahmy A-EA, Al-Shwaiyat NM. Obesity and eating habits among college students in Saudi Arabia: a cross sectional study. BMC Nutr. 2010;9(1):39. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
19. Alshahrani MM, Chandramohan S. A cross-sectional study on prevalence of obesity and its association with dietary habits among college students in Abha, Saudi Arabia. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2017;4(5):1406–1412. doi:10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20171747 [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
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21. Malak Eisa Abdalla Al-Haj, Hiba A Awooda and Mustafa Khidir Mustafa Elnimeiri. Eating habits among medical students in a Sudanese medical faculty.
22. Ganasegeran K, Al-Dubai SA, Qureshi AM, Al-Abed A-AA, Am R, Aljunid SM. Social and psychological factors affecting eating habits among university students in a Malaysian medical school: a cross-sectional study. Nutr J. 2012; 11:48. doi: 10.1186/1475-2891-11-48. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar].
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24. Ackuaku-Dogbe EM, Abaidoo B. Breakfast eating habits among medical students. Ghana Med J. 2014; 48:66–70. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
25. Tolfrey K, Zakrzewski JK. Breakfast, glycaemic index and health in young people. J Sport Health Sci 2012; 1:149-59.
26. Jasim Naeem AL-Asadi Perceived Stress and Eating Habits among Medical Students. International Journal of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences (IJMPS). ISSN (P): 2250-0049; ISSN (E): 2321-0095. Vol. 4, Issue 3, Jun 2014, 81-90.
27. Abraham, Brooke R. Noriega, Ju Young Shin.College students eating habits and knowledge of nutritional requirements. Sam Bethel College School of Nursing, Bethel College, Mishawaka, Indiana, USA. Journal of Nutrition and Human Health (2018) Volume 2, Issue 1
28. Manisha Pandey, Rohit K Verma, Shubhini A Saraf. Nutraceuticals: a new era of medicine and health. Asian J Pharm Clin Res 2010; 3:11-5.
29. El-Gilany AH, Abdel-Hady DM, El Damanawy R. Consumption and knowledge of fast/junk foods among medical students, Mansoura University, Egypt. TAF Prev Med Bull. 2016; 15:440–5. [Google Scholar].
30. Vijay Shree, R. R. Prasad2, Sanjay Kumar, Setu Sinha1, Sanjay Kumar Choudhary. Study on consumption of fast food among medical students of IGIMS, Patna. Bihar. India
31. http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20182416.
32. Dilkhosh Shamal Ramadhan, Arazoo Issa Tahir, Rebar Yahya Abdullah. Dietary Habits among Medical Science Students in Duhok City. https://doi.org/10.15218/ejnm.2021.08 Erbil j. nurse Midwifery. Vol. 4, No. (2), Nov 2021.
33. Giovannini M, Verduci E, Scaglioni 0S, Salvatici E, Bonza M, Riva E, et al. Breakfast: a good habit, not a repetitive custom. J Int Med Res. 2008; 36(4):613–624. doi:10.1177/147323000803600401 [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar].
34. Popkin BM, Adair LS, Ng SW. The global nutrition transition and the pandemic of obesity in developing countries. Nutrition Review. 2012; 70(1):3–21. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-4887.2011.00456.x. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar].
35. Al-Otaibi HH. The pattern of fruit and vegetable consumption among Saudi university students. Glob J Health Sci. 2014;6(2):155. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar].
36. Alshahrani MM, Chandramohan S. A cross-sectional study on prevalence of obesity and its association with dietary habits among college students in Abha, Saudi Arabia. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2017; 4(5):1406–1412. doi:10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20171747 [CrossRef] [Google Scholar
Published
2023-12-30
How to Cite
O. RASHID, B. (2023). FOOD CULTER KNOWLEDGE AND EATING PRACTICES AMONG MEDICAL COLLEGE STUDENTS IN DUHOK. Duhok Medical Journal, 17(2), 97-111. Retrieved from http://dmj.uod.ac/index.php/dmj/article/view/264
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