Introduction: Globally, there has been an upsurge of obesity and overweight among college students. In 2022, two and a half billion adults aged 18 years and above (43%) were overweight, among which, 890 million people were obese (16%). Furthermore, a prevalence of 16.5% of overweight was reported among Kenyatta University students in Nairobi, Kenya in 2024. There is scarcity of information on eating habits, physical activity level and the nutrition status of college students in Kenya, particularly those pursuing nutrition programmes. Thus, this study’s purpose was to establish the physical activity and nutrition knowledge levels, eating habits and nutrition status among nutrition and dietetics students in middle-level institutions in Kenya. Materials and Methods: This research employed a mixed methods cross-sectional analytical study design that collected both quantitative and qualitative data. Two hundred and ninety-three (293) third- and second-year nutrition students at Karen, Molo, and Nyandarua Campuses were randomly sampled. Content-validated, semi-structured, self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data on social and physical environmental factors, individual factors, and eating habits. Observation checklist and Focus Group Discussion guides were also used to collect qualitative data. Eating habits was determined using dietary diversity score and meal frequency. Weight, height, waist and hip circumference measurements were collected and the weight status established using Body Mass Index (WHO 2000 cut-off points) and Waist Hip Ratio. Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) (WHO 2022) was used to collect physical activity data. Qualitative data was transcribed and coded for common themes, from which conclusions were drawn. SPSS version 25.0 was used for data analysis. The relationships between study variables were established using a number of tests, including Chi- square test, Man Whitney U test, one-way ANOVA, Bivariate Spearman’s rank order correlation, and Multivariate logistic regression analysis. A p< 0.05 was used as the statistical significance level. Results: Majority of the participants were females (76%). The mean age of the participants was 22.7(±2) years. Majority of the respondents (57.7%) had moderate nutrition knowledge (41–69%). The college students’ meals majorly constituted of ugali, kales, rice beans/green grams, chapati beans/ green grams, and rice, carrot, peas, ugaliand cabbage. Majority of the respondents (87%) had diverse diets, where they consumed a daily minimum recommended meal frequency of five meals. However, Sub-optimal eating habits were reported in some respondents, such as consumption of unhealthy snacks, skipping meals, and poor dietary diversity. 20.5% of the respondents were overweight and 7.5% obese. 26.3% and 46.1% of the respondents engaged in vigorous and moderate physical activity respectively. Higher nutrition knowledge was associated with the practice of recommended eating habits (AOR = 0.265, p = 0.006). Conclusion: In conclusion, this study has shown that there was no association between nutrition knowledge and nutrition status of the study participants. There were also inadequate physical activity levels among the nutrition students. Nonetheless, active physical activity promotes an acceptable nutrition status. Hence, there is a need to sensitize nutrition students to ensure that their knowledge is translated to healthy eating habits. This will help in preventing overweight and obesity, and therefore, chronic conditions. The management should also ensure that the college environment supports physical activity and healthy eating. Key words: Eating habits, Overweight, Obesity, Nutrition students, Nutrition knowledge, Physical activity, Middle- level institutions
Mwaniki et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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