Nutrition Knowledge Determinants among Undergraduate Students in Selected University in Jakarta

Abstract

<p><em>Malnutrition problem (under and over nutrition), known as the double burden of malnutrition, was a growing concern in developing countries, including Indonesia. The 2018 Indonesia Basic Health Survey noted a substantial increase in the proportion of these nutritional impairments. As a fundamental factor of malnutrition, nutritional knowledge was expected to be occupied not only by vulnerable groups. A transitional age group like youth, in this case undergraduate students, should also be on the radar since they carried a risk of malnutrition from adolescence into adulthood. This study aimed to assess the nutritional knowledge determinants among undergraduate students in Jakarta. This cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students in Universitas Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jakarta. The nutritional knowledge regarding the Indonesian Guideline for Balance Diet, as well as participants’ characteristics questionnaire, was self-administered online by 235 participants using Google Form. Chi-Square, Spearman’s rho, and logistics regression tests were used to analyze the data using statistical software. Students who participated in this study were primarily female, aged under 20 years, achieve a GPA above 3.50, and had normal BMI. The bivariate analysis reported a significant association between sex, study field, and parent’s income with nutrition knowledge level. Based on logistic regression, the odds of having an adequate nutrition knowledge level is about 2.76 times higher among students whose parents earned 3-5 million IDR per month than students whose parents earned less than 3 million or more than 5 million IDR. Undergraduate students were also a prominent target group to ensure nutritional knowledge occupancy since they may face adolescent nutritional problems and future risk of adult nutritional problems. This study is fostering targeted nutrition education for youth undergraduate students.</em></p>

The Relationship of Nutrition Literacy, Eating Pattern, and Nutritional Status among Medical Students

“…Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS ver. 25 12,15,16,17 The level of nutritional literacy of the respondents in this study was dominated by the level of adequate nutritional literacy.…”

The association between nutrient intake and physical activity with nutritional status of undergraduate medical students

“…6 Another study in Indonesia, specifically in Jakarta, demonstrated that more than 30% of undergraduate medical students were categorised as overnutrition either being overweight or obese. 7 Nevertheless, undernutrition is also a problem that could not be overlooked, as macronutrients and micronutrients are needed by every organ in the human body. A low intake of nutrients, which leads to a low nutritional status, could cause disturbances in organ function, either in the gastrointestinal, cardiorespiratory, muscular, or even immune systems, and it could have a psychosocial effect.…”