Affiliation:
1. Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
2. Academy of Applied Policy Studies and Education Futures, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Abstract
There is a noticeable absence of health education among college students. This study aimed to evaluate the extent of general nutrition knowledge among Chinese university students and explore its association with eating attitudes. Data were collected from a group of 273 students in Spring of 2023, using a valid and reliable research instrument consisting of three sections: demographic variables, the General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (GNKQ), and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26). The results were analyzed using SPSS, with correlations and t-tests to examine the relationships between nutritional knowledge and dietary attitudes. Furthermore, the present study employed the random forest (RF) algorithm, a machine learning technique, utilizing the Mean Decrease Impurity (MDI) method to investigate the influence of various features on participants’ eating attitudes. The findings revealed that Chinese university students had an average accuracy of over 60% in their nutritional knowledge, but their understanding of the relationship between diet and disease still needs improvement. Moreover, male students had significantly lower nutritional knowledge than female students, and there was a positive correlation between nutritional knowledge and parents’ income. The study also found a significant correlation between the level of nutritional knowledge and eating attitudes. RF results indicated that the family income level exhibited the most substantial impact on the eating attitudes of the participants. The study highlights the need for nutrition education curriculum developers to focus more on improving students’ nutritional knowledge, with particular attention given to male students, low-income individuals, and those with an abnormal BMI.
Funder
General Research Fund of Hong Kong
FLASS Dean’s Research Fund
Multi-disciplinary Research Capacity Building Scheme
Internal Research Fund of the Education University of Hong Kong
Subject
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Reference40 articles.
1. Nutrition Literacy Is Associated with Healthy-Eating Behaviour among College Students in Taiwan;Liao;Health Educ. J.,2019
2. University Student Practices and Perceptions on Eating Behaviours Whilst Living Away from Home;Hafiz;Int. J. Educ. Res.,2023
3. Nutrition Knowledge Attitude and Practices among Students of Ahfad University for Women;Elhassan;Indian J. Sci. Res.,2013
4. Jezewska-Zychowicz, M., and Plichta, M. (2022). Diet Quality, Dieting, Attitudes and Nutrition Knowledge: Their Relationship in Polish Young Adults—A Cross-Sectional Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 19.
5. Dlamini, S.N., Mtintsilana, A., Mapanga, W., Craig, A., and Norris, S.A. (2023). Associations between Nutrition Knowledge and Obesity-Related Attitudes and Physical Activity among Young Adults from Kenya, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. S. Afr. J. Clin. Nutr., 1–14.