Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Dietary and Lifestyle Habits Among Medical Students in King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Knowing the medical students' knowledge, attitude and practices of nutritional and lifestyle habits helps to enhance the nutrition of the community, which will consequently lead to a healthier society, as they will constitute the main body of future physicians and professionals. We aimed to evaluate their nutrition knowledge, their eating habits and overall perception regarding importance of healthy eating habits of medical students of King Abdulaziz University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study included 200 students between ages 19-24 years from basic and clinical levels in the faculty of medicine. A self-reported questionnaire was employed to assess perceived attitude and barriers to healthy practices by the study participants. Overall most medical students were aware of the importance of healthy eating habits yet they were not practicing it adequately in their daily life. Improving nutrition knowledge, attitude and dietary practices through nutritional education may help to prevent many nutrition-related diseases.