Malays. Appl. Biol. (2018) 47(1): 159–166
CALORIE INTAKE AND FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH
FOOD CONSUMPTION
MAR MAR LWIN1*, KHIN CHO AUNG1, CLIFFTON AKOI ANAK2 and KHIN THAN YEE3
1Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences,
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
2Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences,
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
3Department of Paraclinical Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences,
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
*E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Accepted 22 February 2018, Published online 31 March 2018
ABSTRACT
Medical students experience time constraints and stress in studying, thus, they tend to have an imbalanced diet. This study assessed the calorie intake and factors associated with food consumption among medical students in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. The self-administered questionnaires regarding the knowledge and attitude about food consumption, factors affecting food intake and a 24-hour dietary recall was completed by 101 students. They had overall good knowledge on food consumption, calorie content, hygienic food preparation and balanced diet, 52.5% had normal BMI, 80.2% considered to reduce fast food consumption, and 76.2% consumed food for the tastiness. There was a significant correlation between respondents’ knowledge and total calorie intake (p<0.05). The main factors affecting food consumption are types of food chosen, amount of food taken and frequency of meals consumed. The total calorie intake differs between male and female. Majority of the students had one to two servings of fruit per day. The knowledge plays an important role in total calorie intake. The results suggest that the subjects were more concerned about the taste of the food rather than the cost and nutritional value.
Key words: Balanced diet, BMI, Calorie intake, Medical Students in UNIMAS Sarawak
