Does Knowledge Level Affect Students' Eating Habits?

Food is one of the main factors for having a healthy mind and body. Many people believe that the knowledge a person has about food influ ences healthy food choices. Thus, education on food and nutrition is seen as a strategy for pro moting healthy habits. To assess the level of knowledge and eating habits among students of the University of Vlora. This is a descriptive analytical study, which was conducted with N =200 students from differ ent faculties of the University of Vlora during the period January - June 2023. The sample size was determined based on the descriptive-analytical nature of the study and the recommendations of the literature for similar studies in order to en sure an acceptable level of statistical power and representativeness of the study population. The selection of participants was carried out through a convenient sample of students from different faculties of the University of Vlora.The study included students regularly regis tered in the relevant academic year, who volun tarily agreed to participate, while students who did not complete the questionnaire regularly or did not provide informed consent were ex cluded. The selection procedure was implemented in ac ademic settings, respecting the inclusion and ex clusion criteria, in order to minimize bias and in crease the validity of the results. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess nutritional knowledge and habits among students. The questionnaire used in this study is a validated instrument, previously used in similar studies on nutritional knowledge and habits among university students. The instrument has been adapted to the local context, while main taining the basic structure and content, which guarantees validity and reliability.200 students, whose average age was 19.6 years, participated in the study from three faculties of UV. No statistically significant difference was ob served in eating habits related to the level of knowledge about nutrition (p=0.432). The ma jority of students, 45%, receive information on nutrition from their family. The majority of them, 83%, do not follow a special diet. It is seen that 65% of students have good eating habits and only 18% of them have good knowledge on nutrition, while 82% have moderate knowledge. Regarding knowledge on nutrition and sociodemographic factors, it was observed that younger students and those residing in Vlora have better knowledge compared to others. No statistically significant differences were observed by faculty, gender or year of study. Regarding eating habits, the findings show significant differences by gen der, with male students reporting better eating habits compared to females. This result may be related to food preferences, energy needs or soci ocultural factors that affect cultural behaviours differently according to gender. Based on the results of this study, it is recom mended to develop and implement structured in stitutional interventions to promote healthy eat ing among university students, which should be based on a multidisciplinary approach that in cludes collaboration between educational insti tutions, health professionals and the academic community. Educational programs on healthy eating should be integrated into university curricula, especially for first-year students, including mandatory modules or open informative lectures led by nu tritionists, public health doctors and psycholo gists. These programs should focus not only on increasing theoretical knowledge, but also on de veloping practical skills for food selection and building sustainable eating habits. It is also recommended to strengthen the role of university health services through individual and group counselling on nutrition, body weight man agement and healthy lifestyle Active involvement of the family and community through awareness-raising campaigns is recom mended, since the family is the main source of in formation for students. Finally, periodic monitoring and evaluation of in stitutional interventions through further re search studies using validated instruments and longitudinal designs is suggested, with the aim of measuring the effectiveness of programs and adapting them to the real needs of students.