Knowledge of physical activity and nutrition recommendations in college students

Abstract

Objective Assess physical activity (PA) and nutrition recommendation knowledge in college students. Participants: 71 students (n = 41 females;18 to 22 years) measured in May of 2014. METHODS: Knowledge of existence and accuracy of PA and nutrition recommendations were assessed via a verbal survey. Results: Most (67.6%) were aware PA recommendations exist, but only 26.8% could accurately report them. Almost all (91.5%) were aware nutrition guidelines exist, but no higher than 23.9% answered any specific recommendation correctly. There were no significant associations between sex or body mass index (BMI) and either awareness or accuracy of PA or nutrition recommendations. Non-Kinesiology majors were 3.3 times more likely to answer that they were not aware of the existence of PA recommendations, compared to Kinesiology majors. Conclusions: Accurate knowledge of the PA and nutrition recommendations are very low and given that the majority of participants were categorized as overweight or obese, teaching these guidelines needs to be the priority.