scholarly journals Dietary Habits of Students Enrolled in Faculties of Health Sciences: A Cross-sectional Study

Cureus ◽  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah AlJohani ◽  
Mahmoud Salam ◽  
Ala'a BaniMustafa ◽  
Abdul Rehman Z Zaidi ◽  
Abdulaziz A Aljohani ◽  
...  
Author(s):  
Sanjeev Badiger ◽  
Sanjay Kini ◽  
Nanjesh Kumar

Background:In general students who get into health sciences experience transition from home and family care to university and hostel life, which in turn exerts lot of stress which affects their dietary pattern. Many life style factors and poor eating habits acquired during this period can lead to serious diseases later in life.Methods:The present study was a questionnaire based cross-sectional study conducted to find out the dietary pattern among the students of health sciences and to know their health and morbidity status.Results:The study included 175 students of Nitte University with 93 Medical, 49 Dental, 33 nursing students. 75% of students who ate outside almost daily had stomach upsets regularly and it was much less (46.8%) among those who had a frequency of not more than once a week. It was seen that 87 (49.71%) students skipped breakfast, 14 (8%) students skipped lunch, 14 (8%) students skipped dinner. 5.7% of subjects were underweight, 85.2% of subjects had a normal BMI and 9.1% were overweight.Conclusions:Hereby we recommend that a nutritional health education intervention aimed at improving the dietary habits of students is the need of the hour.


2019 ◽  
pp. 80-86
Author(s):  
Phuoc Thuoc Doan ◽  
Thi Huong Nguyen ◽  
Thi Thanh Nhan Tran ◽  
Thi Phuong Thao Nguyen ◽  
Thi Thuy Hang Nguyen ◽  
...  

Background: Non-communicable diseases seriously affect public health and socio-economic development of the country due to the high number of people suffering from diseases, being disabled and mortal. However, the proportion of people who recognized themselves a suffering from non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia is not high. For cases that their disease situations have been identified, there are not appropriate treatment and preventive behaviors. Objectives: 1) To determine the proportion of 25 - 84 years old peoplewho identified themselves as suffering from hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia. 2) To learn treatment and preventive behaviors in the group of people who identified themselves as suffering from diseases. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a randomly selected sample of 1600 residents in Thua Thien Hue province. Results: The proportion of people knowing that they are suffering from hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia was 29.4%; 3.2% and 7.8% respectively. Among them, the proportion of people who did not treat and treated irregularly accounted for 42.7%; 13.7% and 75.2% respectively; the proportion of people who did not change their lifestyles and dietary habits accounted for 50.1%; 5.9% and 56.8% respectively. Conclusions: The proportion of people who identified themselves as suffering from some non-communicable diseases without appropriate treatment and preventive behaviors is alarming. Interventions are needed to help people realize the importance of treatment and prevention effectively. Key words: Non-communicable diseases, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-93
Author(s):  
Mary-Joe Youssef ◽  
Antoine Aoun ◽  
Aline Issa ◽  
Lana El-Osta ◽  
Nada El-Osta ◽  
...  

Background: The prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is increasing worldwide and the related chronic symptoms can be associated with morbidity and poor quality of life. Objective: The objective of this study was to identify foods and beverages consumed by the Lebanese population, dietary habits, socio-demographic and lifestyle factors, health parameters and perceived stress, implicated in increasing GERD symptoms. Methods: This observational cross-sectional study was carried among Lebanese adults in 2016. A convenient sample of 264 participants was equally divided into a GERD group and a control group. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle, health status and dietary habits including Lebanese traditional dishes were collected. The perceived stress scale (PSS) was also used to assess the participants’ perception of stress. Logistic regression analyses were conducted with GERD symptoms (presence or absence) being the dependent variable. Results: The GERD symptoms were significantly associated with age (-p-value=0.017), family history of GERD symptoms (-p-value<0.001), smoking (-p-value=0.003) and chronic medical conditions (-p-value<.001). Regarding the dietary factors, participants who ate three meals or less/day, between meals and outside homes were 2.5, 2.9 and 2.4 times at a higher risk of experiencing GERD symptoms than others, respectively. Moreover, the logistic regression model showed that the GERD symptoms were significantly associated with the consumption of coffee (-p-value=0.037), Lebanese sweets (-p-value=0.027), fried foods (-p-value=0.031), ‘Labneh’ with garlic (-p-value<0.001), pomegranate molasses (-p-value=0.011), and tomatoes (-p-value=0.007). Conclusion: Some specific lifestyle factors and components of the Lebanese Mediterranean diet could be associated with GERD symptoms.


Author(s):  
Wafaa Husain ◽  
Fatemah Ashkanani

Abstract Background The coronavirus pandemic has transformed and continues to transform and affect the daily lives of communities worldwide, particularly due to the lockdown restrictions. Therefore, this study was designed to understand the changes in dietary and lifestyle behaviours that are major determinants of health during the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online questionnaire using a convenience sample of 415 adults living in Kuwait (age range 18–73 years). Results The rate of skipping breakfast remained consistent, with a slight increase during the pandemic. Lunch remained the main reported meal before and during COVID-19. Compared to before COVID-19, people were much more likely have a late-night snack or meal during COVID-19 (OR = 3.57 (95% CI 1.79–7.26), p < 0.001). Moreover, there was a drastic decrease in the frequency of fast-food consumption during COVID-19, up to 82% reported not consuming fast food (p < 0.001). There was a significant increase in the percentage of participants who had their main meal freshly made (OR = 59.18 (95% CI 6.55–1400.76), p = 0.001). Regarding food group patterns, no significant differences were found before and during the pandemic in terms of the weekly frequency of consumption, except in the case of fish and seafood. There were no remarkable changes in beverage consumption habits among participants before and during the pandemic, except for Americano coffee and fresh juice. Furthermore, there was a great reduction in physical activity and an increase in the amount of screen time and sedentary behaviours. A notable increase was detected in day-time sleep and a decrease in night-time sleep among participants. Conclusion In general, this study indicates some changes in daily life, including changes in some eating practices, physical activity and sleeping habits during the pandemic. It is important that the government considers the need for nutrition education programmes and campaigns, particularly during this critical period of the pandemic in Kuwait.


Author(s):  
Zeinab E. Afifi ◽  
Rania I. Shehata ◽  
Asmaa F. El Sayed ◽  
El Sayed M. Hammad ◽  
Marwa R. Salem

Abstract Background Nutrition was claimed to be a factor in MS causation, course, complications, and management. Several studies were conducted to assess the nutritional status of MS patients; however, few studies were conducted to assess this problem in Egypt. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to assess the nutritional status of a sample of MS patients. Methods The researchers conducted an exploratory cross-sectional study among 76 relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients attending Kasr Alainy Multiple Sclerosis Unit (KAMSU) from October 2018 to January 2019 to assess the nutritional status of a sample of MS patients. Data were collected using a structured interview questionnaire including an inquiry about the socioeconomic status, and nutritional status using anthropometric measurements, patient-generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA), semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires (SQFFQ), and hemoglobin level measurement. Assessment of fatigue was done using the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale 5-items version. Results The mean age of the study participants was 30 ± 6 years. The disease duration ranged from 2 to 264 months. Malnutrition was prevalent among 67.1% (27.6 % overweight, 36.8% obese, and 2.6% underweight). Half of the investigated patients were anemic. According to the PG-SGA, more than half of the studied patients (53.9%) were classified as moderately or suspected malnourished. The unhealthy dietary habits such as taking only a few meals, junk food intake and skipping breakfast were observed in considerable proportions of the group. The SQFFQ revealed overconsumption of energy and fat, and less than acceptable consumption of dietary fibers by most of the studied patients. Conclusions Overweight, obesity, anemia, and unhealthy dietary habits were prevalent among the RRMS patients attending the KAMSU. Nutrition care service is extremely needed for this group of patients.


2016 ◽  
Vol Volume 7 ◽  
pp. 375-376
Author(s):  
Aji Gopakumar ◽  
Susirith Mendis ◽  
Jayakumary Muttappallymyalil ◽  
Jayadevan Sreedharan

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