Publication: Assessment on knowledge, attitude & belief on dietary calcium & dairy intake among undergraduate students, health campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia
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Date
2018-06
Authors
Bohari, Haziqah
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Abstract
Calcium intake has been recognised to reduce the incidence of osteoporosis in
humans. Calcium is important for humans but deficient in diets of young adults. This
study was conducted to identify the level of knowledge, attitude & belict in calcium
intake among university students at Health Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia,
Kelantan. Cross-sectional study was conducted on 158 students aged 18 to 32 years old.
Convenience sampling method used to select respondents around the campus area. A
modified questionnaire was used to assess the level of knowledge, attitude and beliefs
of the respondents, while the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) was used for
calcium intake. Based on Recommended Nutrient Intakes (RN1) for Malaysia,
respondents were categorized into two groups, high calcium intake (>800 mg / day) and
low calcium intake (<800 mg / day). Analysis of 84.8% of respondents has been
identified to have low levels of calcium intake where male respondents had higher
levels of calcium intake than female. More than half of the participants had a low
knowledge of 58.9%. However, their attitude and belief were positive respectively to
65.8% and 65.2%. There is no significant association found between the level of
knowledge, attitude and belief with level of calcium intake. Furthermore, there is no
significant association found between the level of knowledge, attitudes and belief based
on gender. Study also found that there was no significant association between gender
and level of calcium intake (p = 0.211). In conclusion, although no significant
association found in knowledge, attitude and belief was identified, it still can be a factor
that contributes to calcium intake of participants. Intervention program such as health
education can be implemented to improve the knowledge, attitude and belief of
university students and increase calcium intake.