Nutritional Knowledge and its Association with Dietary Habits among Medical vs. Non-medical Students in Islamabad and Rawalpindi: A Cross-sectional Comparative Study

Abstract Introduction: Obesity and cardiovascular diseases have become the leading causes of mortality. Factors affecting dietary habits are crucial for preventing these diseases. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the correlation between nutritional knowledge and dietary habits. Objective: This study aimed to assess the association between nutritional knowledge and dietary practices among university students, and to compare the nutritional knowledge and dietary habits of medical and non-medical students. Methods : A quantitative cross-sectional study, ethically approved by the institution, was conducted among the undergraduate population. The sample size was calculated via OpenEpi software with a 95% confidence interval and a 5% margin of error. Data collection was performed through a validated questionnaire via a convenience sampling technique. All descriptive and inferential statistical tests were conducted with IBM SPSS 26 and a p-value of <0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance for all applied measures. Results : The sample consisted of 382 participants (n=191 medical and n=191 non-medical), with a mean age of 21±2.39 years. When nutritional knowledge was assessed in terms of categories, 86 (22.5%) had unsatisfactory knowledge, 234 (61.2%) had good nutritional knowledge, and 62 (16.2%) had quite good nutritional knowledge. Among the participants, n=4 (1.04%) had inadequate eating habits, n=282 (73.82%) had good eating habits, while n=96 (25.1%) had quite good eating habits. Statistical tests revealed no significant correlation between nutritional knowledge and dietary habits (p>0.05). There was a significant difference (p<0.001) in the nutritional knowledge of medical and non-medical students, but the same was not true for eating habits (p>0.05). A subgroup analysis of medical and non-medical students revealed no significant association (p>0.05) between nutritional knowledge and dietary habits. Conclusion: Nutritional knowledge does not affect dietary habits. Being a medical or non-medical student is associated with the level of nutrition knowledge but not with dietary habits.