Abstract The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and predictors of nutrition knowledge, nutrition label use and dietary diversity among a sample of university students in Bangladesh. A cross-sectional study was carried out from November 2023 to April 2024 among undergraduate and postgraduate students. About 428 participants (aged 18–26 years) completed a structured questionnaire containing questions related to their demographic information, nutrition knowledge, nutrition label use, and dietary diversity (consumption of different food categories). Separate logistic regression models identified the main factors associated with nutrition knowledge, nutrition label use and dietary diversity. Approximately 32.5% participants had satisfactory nutrition knowledge and 36.0% were frequent nutrition label users. Female participants were more likely to have satisfactory nutrition knowledge (adjusted odds ratio, AOR = 2.05, 95% CI = 1.29, 3.26) and use nutrition labels more frequently (AOR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.22, 3.17) than their male counterparts respectively. Around 40% of the participants had a high level of dietary diversity. Students with satisfactory nutrition knowledge (AOR = 3.02, 95% CI = 1.41–6.45) and frequent use of nutrition labels (AOR = 2.73, 95% CI = 1.35–5.55) had a higher dietary diversity compared to their counterparts. Less than half of Bangladeshi students in this study have adequate nutrition knowledge, label use, and dietary diversity. The findings highlight the importance of implementing nutrition awareness programmes and nutrition education interventions for university students, such as basic food and nutrition knowledge and the use of nutrition labels, to enhance their dietary diversity and health status.
Hasan et al. (Thu,) studied this question.