Sources of nutrition information and nutritional knowledge among school-going adolescents in Bangladesh

Objectives: The increasing prevalence of malnutrition among school-going adolescents is a major public health threat in Bangladesh. School studying adolescents are a crucial group suffering from malnutrition. Proper nutrition information can enrich their knowledge, promote their health and also mini...

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Main Authors: Satyajit Kundu, Md Shafiqul Islam Khan, Jhantu Bakchi, Abu Sayeed, Md. Hasan Al Banna, Musammet Rasheda Begum, Md. Nazmul Hassan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2020-11-01
Series:Public Health in Practice
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266653522030029X
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author Satyajit Kundu
Md Shafiqul Islam Khan
Jhantu Bakchi
Abu Sayeed
Md. Hasan Al Banna
Musammet Rasheda Begum
Md. Nazmul Hassan
author_facet Satyajit Kundu
Md Shafiqul Islam Khan
Jhantu Bakchi
Abu Sayeed
Md. Hasan Al Banna
Musammet Rasheda Begum
Md. Nazmul Hassan
author_sort Satyajit Kundu
collection DOAJ
description Objectives: The increasing prevalence of malnutrition among school-going adolescents is a major public health threat in Bangladesh. School studying adolescents are a crucial group suffering from malnutrition. Proper nutrition information can enrich their knowledge, promote their health and also minimize the burden of malnutrition. The study aimed to identify the sources of information and corresponding knowledge level on nutrition among school-going adolescents in Bangladesh. Study design: A school-based cross-sectional survey was carried out from January to August 2019. Methods: A pre-structured questionnaire having 13 validated questions regarding facts panel of packaged food and daily dietary habits was used to assess the knowledge. Scores on nutritional knowledge were calculated by summing up the answer values (Yes ​= ​1, No ​= ​0) and, scores below the overall mean were considered low. Logistic regression was employed to identify whether any source was related to respondents’ nutritional knowledge. Results: Family members were the most popular (52.4%) source of nutrition information. Majority students (43.2%) trusted professionals as an accurate source. Approximately half (49.1%) of the participants scored low (<9.34) in basic nutrition knowledge assessment. Participants seeking information from family members (AOR: 0.693; 95% CI: 0.555–0.866, p ​< ​0.05) and online resources (AOR: 0.826, 95% CI: 0.710–0.962, p ​< ​0.05) were less likely to obtain low scores than those not favored the sources. Conclusion: Knowledge about essential nutrition among school-going adolescents was quite low. The findings of this study are useful to the policymakers to develop and design interventions to improve adolescents’ knowledge of nutrition. A school-based nutrition awareness program can be introduced to reduce malnutrition among adolescents in Bangladesh.
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spelling doaj.art-c04971054e4544f19ca6ee09f3820c382022-12-21T22:35:37ZengElsevierPublic Health in Practice2666-53522020-11-011100030Sources of nutrition information and nutritional knowledge among school-going adolescents in BangladeshSatyajit Kundu0Md Shafiqul Islam Khan1Jhantu Bakchi2Abu Sayeed3Md. Hasan Al Banna4Musammet Rasheda Begum5Md. Nazmul Hassan6Department of Biochemistry and Food Analysis, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali, 8602, Bangladesh; Corresponding author. Department of Biochemistry and Food Analysis, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali, 8602, Bangladesh.Department of Food Microbiology, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali, 8602, BangladeshDepartment of Public Health, North South University, Dhaka, 1229, BangladeshDepartment of Post-Harvest Technology and Marketing, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali, 8602, BangladeshDepartment of Food Microbiology, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali, 8602, BangladeshDepartment of Agricultural Economics and Social Sciences, Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Khulsi, Chattogram, 4225, BangladeshDepartment of Environmental Sanitation, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali, 8602, BangladeshObjectives: The increasing prevalence of malnutrition among school-going adolescents is a major public health threat in Bangladesh. School studying adolescents are a crucial group suffering from malnutrition. Proper nutrition information can enrich their knowledge, promote their health and also minimize the burden of malnutrition. The study aimed to identify the sources of information and corresponding knowledge level on nutrition among school-going adolescents in Bangladesh. Study design: A school-based cross-sectional survey was carried out from January to August 2019. Methods: A pre-structured questionnaire having 13 validated questions regarding facts panel of packaged food and daily dietary habits was used to assess the knowledge. Scores on nutritional knowledge were calculated by summing up the answer values (Yes ​= ​1, No ​= ​0) and, scores below the overall mean were considered low. Logistic regression was employed to identify whether any source was related to respondents’ nutritional knowledge. Results: Family members were the most popular (52.4%) source of nutrition information. Majority students (43.2%) trusted professionals as an accurate source. Approximately half (49.1%) of the participants scored low (<9.34) in basic nutrition knowledge assessment. Participants seeking information from family members (AOR: 0.693; 95% CI: 0.555–0.866, p ​< ​0.05) and online resources (AOR: 0.826, 95% CI: 0.710–0.962, p ​< ​0.05) were less likely to obtain low scores than those not favored the sources. Conclusion: Knowledge about essential nutrition among school-going adolescents was quite low. The findings of this study are useful to the policymakers to develop and design interventions to improve adolescents’ knowledge of nutrition. A school-based nutrition awareness program can be introduced to reduce malnutrition among adolescents in Bangladesh.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266653522030029XSchool-going adolescentsNutrition informationNutrition knowledgeFamily membersBangladesh
spellingShingle Satyajit Kundu
Md Shafiqul Islam Khan
Jhantu Bakchi
Abu Sayeed
Md. Hasan Al Banna
Musammet Rasheda Begum
Md. Nazmul Hassan
Sources of nutrition information and nutritional knowledge among school-going adolescents in Bangladesh
Public Health in Practice
School-going adolescents
Nutrition information
Nutrition knowledge
Family members
Bangladesh
title Sources of nutrition information and nutritional knowledge among school-going adolescents in Bangladesh
title_full Sources of nutrition information and nutritional knowledge among school-going adolescents in Bangladesh
title_fullStr Sources of nutrition information and nutritional knowledge among school-going adolescents in Bangladesh
title_full_unstemmed Sources of nutrition information and nutritional knowledge among school-going adolescents in Bangladesh
title_short Sources of nutrition information and nutritional knowledge among school-going adolescents in Bangladesh
title_sort sources of nutrition information and nutritional knowledge among school going adolescents in bangladesh
topic School-going adolescents
Nutrition information
Nutrition knowledge
Family members
Bangladesh
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266653522030029X
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