Abstract
Objective: Dietary assessment to describe eating practices and asses the nutritional status of students in relation to the cognitive performance of students by Mini-Mental State Examination. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a food frequency questionnaire, Mini mental state examination, anthropometric measurements, and blood analysis for measuring hemoglobin(Hb) and glucose levels. Third year medical students of Oman medical college Sohar campus (Sample size, N=80) were involved in this study. Statistical Analysis was done using the food frequency, MMSE and blood analysis data to study the dietary patterns, nutrition status and cognitive performance of the students. Results: The data revealed low intake of legumes, eggs and red meat (mutton/beef), hence low protein intake by majority of students. 47.5% of the students consumed only two meals in a day. 20.9% of the students were underweight, 13.4% were overweight and 9% were obese. Physical inactivity was present in 51.2% of the students. Low hemoglobin (Hb<12mg/dl) and low glucose level (<3.9mmol/L) was observed in 32% and 28.7% of study sample respectively. Low MMSE score among 11.6% subjects indicated mild cognitive impairment. A significant correlation existed between MMSE and glucose level (p<0.05). Conclusion: A strategy is required to monitor the nutrition of young Omani adults in order to improve health status and prevent deficiency diseases. There is an urgent requirement to promote healthy food choices and lifestyle among medical students.
Highlights
Adequate nutrition plays a vital role in human physical and mental development
Our study revealed some of the poor eating practices that exist among students of Oman medical college, such as low intake of protein rich food, consuming only 2 meals in a day and eating food from the cafeteria
Low protein intake and condition of hypoglycemia may increase the severity of metabolic disorder among the population .As future doctors, medical students need to be aware about the healthy food choices
Summary
Appropriate diet and lifestyle has a positive influence on the cognitive development and academic performance of students [1,2,3]. Insufficient nutrition could lead to impaired cognitive development [4] and academic performance [5, 6]. Unhealthy diet and eating habits among young adults is a major topic of concern at present [7]. Young adults are more vulnerable to poor eating habits due to rapid changes in physical growth and psychosocial development; their dietary requirements are not fulfilled [8,9,10]. Meal skipping, eating away from home, snacking and fast food consumption are some of the unhealthy food habits among young adults [9, 10]. The choices of food made by young adults, especially university students are based on cost of food [16]
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