A study on knowledge, attitude, and practice of medical, paramedical, and dental students of a tertiary care institution toward consumption of fast foods

Abstract

Background: Fast food generally refers to food that people intend to consume quickly either on- or off-site. Junk foods are foods that contain little or no proteins, vitamins, or minerals but are rich in salt, sugar, and fats and are high in energy (calories). Excess consumption of fast food has been linked with a variety of health problems including obesity and type II diabetes. Fast foods tend to contain high trans-fat levels which tend to raise amounts of low-density lipoprotein in the human body leading to ill effects on health. Aim: The aim of this study was to know the knowledge, attitude, and practice of medical, paramedical, and dental students toward consumption of fast foods. Materials and Methods: This study is carried out at Konaseema Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Foundation for 2 months among 658 students from medical, dental, and paramedical courses. Students were asked to fill a self-administered questionnaire, and acquisition of data from those filled questionnaires was done. Data entry and assessment were done in MS Excel and depicted as required. Results: Six hundred and fifty-eight students of medical, dental, Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPT), and nursing courses participated in this study, out of which 421 (64%) are MBBS, 165 (25%) are BDS, 39 (6%) are BPT, and 33 (5%) are nursing students. Conclusion: Hygienic practices should be maintained at fast-food outlets and restaurants. A law postulating to label nutritional information for unpacked foods before serving should be implemented.