The Knowledge, Attitude and Vegetables Consumption Behavior of Undergraduate Students in Khon Kaen University

Abstract

At the present, vegetables consumption in teenage group is an interesting
issue. Because essential vitamins and minerals can be got through vegetables
consumption. In addition, other substances which contained in vegetables can
be used to prevent many kinds of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as
cancer, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases. WHO estimated around 2.7
million of world population will died of NCDs. This is caused by inadequate
consumption of vegetables. Therefore, if teenagers concern about vegetables
consumption habitually, it can prevent them from NCDs in the future. This
study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude, and vegetable consumption.
The crosssectional descriptive study was conducted in bachelor degree students
of Khon Kaen University. Two hundred and twenty eight students from three
branches of faculties, namely, Health Science, Science and Technology, and
Humanities and Social Science, were randomly selected. There were 32 students
of faculty of Nursing, 50 students of faculty of Technology and 146 students
of faculty Humanities and Social Sciences. The questionnaire had been used
to collect the general information, knowledge, attitude towards vegetable
consumption, and frequencies of food consumption as well as 24hour dietary
recall. Quantitative data were analyzed by STATA software and presented as
descriptive statistic. Vitamins and minerals intake from vegetable had been
analyzed by using INMUCAL program.
The results found that the 67.9% of the subjects were female and 30.3%
were male. 50.9% of them had moderate knowledge of vegetable consumption
and 41.2% for the low level. 52.6% of the subjects had the positive attitudes
towards vegetable consumption. Their Vegetable consumption pattern was fried
with oil as 44.7%. Most of subjects received the amount of vitamins A, vitamin C,
calcium, iron, beta carotene and dietary fiber from the daily vegetables consumption
less than 10 percent of the dietary reference intake recommended (DRI).
Therefore, the knowledge and the benefits of vegetables consumption as
well as the development of program to promote vegetables consumption
should be provided to the undergraduate students for motivating the awareness
and good health in the present and in the future.