Breakfast consumption patterns, knowledge, attitude, and practice among dietetics and non-dietetics UTAR students

• Main Author: Ho, Xiao Qi
• Format: Final Year Project / Dissertation / Thesis
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Q Science (General); QM Human anatomy
• Online Access: http://eprints.utar.edu.my/5615/1/fyp_2023_DT_HXQ.pdf; http://eprints.utar.edu.my/5615/

Breakfast is widely acknowledged to be one of the most essential meals of the day. Although there are numerous advantages of breakfast consumption, breakfast is still reported as the most frequently skipped meal. This research aimed to determine the breakfast consumption patterns and knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) among dietetics and non-dietetics UTAR students. A cross sectional study was conducted on 190 undergraduate students at UTAR Kampar campus by using a self-administered online questionnaire. The subjects in this study were chosen using a quota sampling method, in which there will be equal proportions of dietetics and non-dietetics students. The SPSS software was used for data analysis. The breakfast consumption between dietetics and non-dietetics students was compared using a chi-squared test. A chi-squared test was also used to analyze the KAP questionnaires and compare the KAP levels between dietetics and non-dietetics students. The means of KAP variables between dietetics and non-dietetics students were compared using an independent t-test and a Mann-Whitney test. Pearson’s correlation test and Spearman’s correlation test were performed to determine the relationship between KAP variables. A chi-squared test was used to determine the association between breakfast consumption and BMI as well as academic performance. Among the 190 subjects, 66.3% of the subjects were classified as breakfast consumers whereas 33.7% of the subjects were classified as breakfast skippers. Dietetics students had a significantly higher number of breakfast consumers compared to non-dietetics students (p=0.032). The subjects had high knowledge levels but moderate attitude and practice levels. Between the 2 groups of dietetics and non-dietetics students, there was a significant difference in knowledge scores (p<0.001) There were statistically significant weak positive correlations between the KAP variables (p<0.001). There was no significant association between breakfast consumption with BMI (p=0.810). Also, there was no significant association between breakfast consumption with academic performance (p=0.521). The results of this study could be useful for developing interventions in the future to promote breakfast consumption among university students, thus improving their health and academic performance.