KNOWLEDGE ON NUTRITION AND EATING HABITS OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS OF THE BULACAN AGRICULTURAL STATE COLLEGE: BASIS FOR NUTRITION EDUCATION PROGRAM

Abstract

This study looks on how the socio-demographic profile and nutrition knowledge of the high
school students of Bulacan Agricultural State College (BASC) relate to their eating habits. It
employs descriptive method of research where survey questionnaires were the main
instrument in gathering data from a total of 262 respondents enrolled for the Academic Year
2014-2015. The survey questionnaire was developed to describe the socio-demographic
characteristics, nutrition knowledge, eating habits and daily meal intake of respondents. The
nutrition knowledge and food habits are focused on domains of essential food nutrients, good
nutrition principles and healthy food choices.
The nutrition knowledge of respondents in terms of essential food nutrients, nutrition
principles and healthy food choices all got a descriptive interpretation of very knowledgeable. In
terms of eating habits, all the categories of eating habits were descriptively interpreted as
moderately healthy, as in the intake of essential nutrients, practice of good nutrition principles
and preference on healthy food choices.
A strong negative significant correlation exists between grade level of respondents and in all the
categories of eating habits. Age, gender, parents’ educational level and occupation of students were found no significant correlation with their eating habits. Nutrition knowledge in terms of
essential food nutrients has a strong positive correlation with eating habits in terms of intake of
foods containing the essential nutrients and is positively correlated in terms of preference on
healthy food choices. On the other hand, nutrition knowledge in terms of the different nutrition
principles was found to be positively correlated with the respondents’ eating habits in term of
preference on healthy food choices. No significant association was found between nutrition
knowledge in terms of healthy food choices with all the categories of eating habits..
Based from the result of the study, the college shall adopt a nutrition program to help improve
the eating habits of students focusing on improving students’ knowledge of nutrition,
promoting healthy eating habits among them, increasing awareness on physical activities and
wellness, and educating parents and other stakeholders on the value of good nutrition practices.
In coming up with a more effective approach in improving the eating habits among students,
the result of the study suggests that a more intensive research investigating the factors affecting
students’ practice of nutrition must be conducted.
Keywords: nutrition, eating habits, education, knowledge, food, health