Nutritional habits among internet users in a private Malaysian medical school

Abstract

Nutrition especially for young adults is very crucial as they are in transitional phase from adolescent to adulthood. The aim of this survey was to explore the nutritional habits of university students especially those who use internet heavily. An Internet-based survey was performed among 361 young adults’ students at private medical university in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess student’s nutritional habits and internet daily usage. A total of 361 respondents participated in this survey with response rate of 72.2% (361/500). Majority of the respondents were female (65.1%), do not take breakfast daily (55.1%), eating dinner daily (82.3%), do not exercise regularly (59.0%). There was a significant association between gender and internet usage (p = 0.03), the association between number of hours on facebook and internet usage was significant (p<0.001). In conclusion, more attention should be given to this age group with more education regarding healthy nutritional choices.