Knowledge Of Physical Activity And Nutrition Recommendations In College Students

Abstract

It is estimated that 32% of college students are overweight or obese (Wilson et al., 2012). Physical activity and healthy eating are two factors that can help mitigate this trend, but it has been shown that 40% to 50% of college students are physically inactive (Keating et al., 2005). More than 98% of adults have been shown to consume less than the recommended servings of whole grains, and 35.2% consume less than the recommended servings of milk (Krebs-Smith et al., 2010). Inadequate knowledge of the recommendations may be the reason for such poor outcomes. PURPOSE: To assess the physical activity and nutrition knowledge of college students. METHODS: Participants included 71 (30 males, 41 females) college students, 18 to 22 years of age. Age, height, weight, and waist circumference were measured and body mass index (BMI) calculated. Knowledge of both the existence of physical activity and nutrition guidelines and the accuracy of what the recommendations were was assessed in a verbal survey. RESULTS: The majority of participants were categorized as overweight (45.1%) or obese (19.7%). Most participants (67.6%), were aware of the existence of physical activity guidelines; however, only 26.8% could correctly describe them and 45.1% did not attempt to list them. While 91.5% of participants were aware of the existence of nutrition guidelines, none answered all nutrition questions correctly. The highest percent for a correct response in any of the nutrition categories was 23.9% for recommended servings of fruit. The lowest percent correct responses were for the questions regarding the recommended intake of saturated fat (1.4%), fiber (1.4%) and cholesterol (0.0%). CONCLUSIONS: College students’ knowledge of physical activity and nutrition guidelines were low and demonstrated the need for educating this population on these guidelines.