Nutrition-Related Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices among Government Residential Trainees in Bangladesh: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Aim: This study aims to explore the basic nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) among government residential trainees in Bangladesh towards their better health and well-being in order to enhance performance and service in professional life. Subject and Methods: This cross-sectional quantitative study included 518 trainees from six government residential institutes. Semi-structured questionnaires collected socio-demographic, anthropometric, and nutrition-related data. Comparison between two groups was done using the students’ unpaired t-test for normally distributed continuous variables. Chi-squared tests were performed on categorical data to find the relationships between variables. The data were analyzed using SPSS software for Windows. Results: Among the participants, age [yrs, (Mean ± SD)] was 33 ± 4 and 32 ± 3 in the male and female groups, respectively. According to the WHO (2004), BMI categories, 56.8% of males and 48% of females were at increased risk, while 26.9% of males and 24.7% of females were at high risk. Males showed 98% good nutritional knowledge and a positive attitude, but 45.7% had poor daily practices. Similarly, 99% of females had good knowledge and a positive attitude, yet 38.7% demonstrated poor practices. Among males, nutritional knowledge was significantly associated with attitude (p ≤ 0.001) and showed a trend toward significance with practices (p = 0.080). However, no significant associations were found in females. Conclusions: Despite having good nutritional knowledge, participants showed poor dietary practices, likely due to limited practical awareness. Ongoing nutrition education and future research with larger samples are essential to promote healthier behaviors.