Organised By
Organised By
ABSTRACT
Effective school based health education programs on nutrition, physical activity and life style are important to prevent obesity among students and guide them to acquire much heathier life. In order to develop these effective educational programs, there is a need to assess the level of nutrition knowledge among students and determine its relationship with nutritional status and dietary practices. Thus, this cross-sectional study aims to examine the levels of nutrition knowledge and dietary practices among secondary school students in Hebron city, Palestine, using a 21-dichotomous item questionnaire. A total of 469 students (52.9% males 47.1% females with mean age 16.5± 0.7 years) were randomly selected from four (4) different areas in Hebron, following the stratified random sampling procedures. The questionnaire’s psychometric properties were investigated; one item was deleted and Cronbach’s alpha was (α > 0.7). The analysis showed low level of nutrition knowledge among the study sample as indicated by the low mean scores of students’ correct answers (11.7 ±3.3) on the questionnaire items. Significant higher mean scores were found in favor of female students, (p<0.05); scientific stream students, (p<0.01); and 12th and 11th grades students, (p<0.01), with no significant relationship with students’ dietary practices. The students’ low level of nutritional knowledge and the significant differences among the study groups have shown the need to develop intervention educational programs to increase the secondary students’ awareness on healthy dietary practices as well as promote healthy diet intake and life style among them.
Key words: Nutrition knowledge, Dichotomous items, Palestine, School students