Knowledge, attitude and practice regarding dietary fibre intake among Malaysian rural and urban adolescents
- Author:
Norlida Mat DAUD
1
;
Nor Izati FADZIL
;
Lam Kit YAN
;
Ika Aida Aprilini Makbul
;
Noor Fairuzi Suhana Yahya
;
Arnida Hani TEH
;
Hafeedza Abdul RAHMAN
Author Information
1. School of Chemical Science and Food Technology, Faculty of Science & Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi Selangor, Malaysia
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Dietary fibre intake;
KAP;
rural;
urban;
school adolescents
- From:
Malaysian Journal of Nutrition
2018;24(1):77-88
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Introduction: Awareness of the importance of dietary fibre (DF) in health among adolescents is seldom reported in Malaysia. This study aimed to compare the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of DF intake between Malaysian rural and urban school-going adolescents. Pulau Pangkor in Perak and Damansara in Selangor were randomly selected as rural and urban schools, respectively. Methods: A total of 305 school adolescents with a mean age of 13.5±0.6 years were randomly selected from rural (72 Malay, 85 Chinese) and urban (86 Malay, 62 Chinese) schools completed socio-demographic, validated KAP on DF intake questionnaire, as well as a 24-hour dietary recall. Results: Adolescents from both areas have moderate knowledge (54.4±11.3%), positive attitude (78.7±13.1%) and good practice (65.8±19.9%) scores towards DF intake. Although rural adolescents had significantly (p=0.022) higher DF intake (7.8±3.5 g) compared to urban adolescents (6.9±3.5 g), their DF intake was still lower than the Malaysian recommendation of 20-30 g/day. The attitude of DF intake of rural (r=0.390) and urban (r=0.370) adolescents showed significant positive correlations with practice score of DF intake. While a significant correlation was found between the practice score and DF intake (r=0.191, p=0.017), no significant correlation was found between knowledge and attitude scores with DF intake. Conclusion: Public health authorities and schools should raise awareness on health benefit of consuming DF to promote an increase in DF consumption among school adoles
