TY - JOUR T1 - A Cross‐Sectional Study to Assess the Knowledge, Attitude and Practices About Nutrition and Their Correlation with Anthropometric Indicators Among Students of a Nursing College in Mandya AU - Maithri, C.M. AU - George, Shoji AU - Deepak, Abhigna AU - Raghunath, H. JO - International Journal of Tropical Medicine VL - 20 IS - 2 SP - 1 EP - 4 PY - 2025 DA - 2001/08/19 SN - 1816-3319 DO - makijtm.2025.2.1.4 UR - https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=makijtm.2025.2.1.4 KW - Nutrition KW - nursing students KW - knowledge KW - attitude KW - dietary practices KW - anthropometric indicators AB -

Health is significantly influenced by dietary practices which in‐turn impacts physical, mental, and cognitive development. Nursing students must understand the importance of proper nutrition to promote healthier lifestyles for themselves and the patients. To assess the knowledge, attitude and dietary practices about nutrition among students of a nursing college in Mandya along with their anthropometric indicators. To assess the correlation between knowledge, attitude, dietary practices and anthropometric indicators. A cross‐sectional study was conducted among consenting nursing students (=18 years). Data regarding nutritional knowledge, attitude, and dietary practices scored on a 5‐point Likert scale was collected using a pre‐tested 31‐item questionnaire (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.704). Socio‐demographic and anthropometric data were recorded. Analysis was done using SPSS ver.22 and Pearson’s correlation was used to assess association between the study parameters. (p < 0.05 significant). Among 181 participants, 90.6% were 18–21 years and 96.7% were females. The mean Body Mass Index (BMI) was 21.45 ± 4.17 kg/m² and waist to hip ratio was 0.79 ± 0.08. BMI classification showed 47% normal, 22.7% underweight, 14.9% overweight, and 15.5% obese. Mean score for knowledge, attitude and dietary practices were 4.18 ± 0.33, 4.11 ± 0.3 and 3.35 ± 0.56 respectively. Positive correlation was observed between knowledge and attitude (r = 0.330, p value < 0.00), attitude and practice (r = 0.174, p = 0.019); but not between knowledge and dietary practices (r=0.082, p=0.269). Data analysis showed no association between anthropometric indicators vs knowledge (WHR: r=‐0.069, p=0.3511; BMI: p‐0.160) attitude (WHR: r=‐0.092, p=0.213; BMI: p‐0.699) and dietary practices (WHR: r=0.13, p=0.079; BMI: p‐0.741). The study participants had good nutritional knowledge and attitude but lower dietary practice scores. The findings suggest that good nutritional knowledge and attitude did not translate into healthier dietary practices among the students. There was no significant correlation between nutritional knowledge, attitude and the dietary practices of the students with their anthropometric indicators.

ER -