AHD 4403 Research Project in Dietetics

Thesis Presentation

The Assessment Of Knowledge, Attitude And
Practice Related To Fruit And Vegetable
Consumption Among IIUM Kuantan Students

By :
Marlina bt Mohd Zain (0816780)

Supervisor : Dr. Norazlanshah Bin Hazali
Co-supervisor: Dr. Muhammad Bin Ibrahim

Introduction
Fruits and vegetables as an important part of diet
as they contain vitamins, essential
micronutrients, dietary fiber as well as dietary
protein.

They also play significant role in reducing the
risk of many diseases, however many people do
not concern about what they are eating and the
effect on their health.

Thus, this study is aimed to determine and
examine the KAP that influence the intake of
fruits and vegetables consumption among
respondents.




Literature Review
Fruits and vegetables are important foods that consist of variety of
nutrients. It contains of antioxidants, minerals, and photochemicals that
helps blood sugar level, produce better energy in the body, and build up
the immune system in order to prevent chronic diseases (Oelke, 2005).

According to Duyn and Pivonka (2000), scientific evidence that support
health benefit from fruits and vegetables intake is increasing rapidly
and many researchers find strong relationship between increased fruits
and vegetables intake and decreased risk of chronic diseases.

Consuming at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily were 28
percent less likely to lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared to
consuming fewer than 1.5 serving per day (Hung et al, 2004).
Research Methodology
Section A
demographic data (gender, age, kulliyyah, year of study)
Section B
13 items of question regarding knowledge and attitude
Section C
2 items of question regarding practice
Cross - sectional study
Convenience sampling
Kuantan Campus
60 respondents
Objectives
To determine the prevalence of
consumption of fruits and vegetables.

To assess the knowledge and attitude
regarding fruits and vegetables.

To determine the association between
knowledge and consumption of fruits
and vegetables.

Result & Discussion
Figure 1:
Demographic Characteristics (N = 60)

Characteristic Category n(%)
Gender Male
Female

7 (11.7)
53 (88.3)
Kulliyyah Medicine
Dentistry
Pharmacy
Allied Health Sciences
Sciences
Nursing

8 (13.3)
6 (10.0)
5 (8.3)
23 (38.3)
16 (26.7)
2 (3.3)
Year of study Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4

11 (18.3)
15 (25.0)
23 (38.3)
9 (19.3)
Objective 1
To determine the prevalence of consumption
of fruits and vegetables.


Figure 1:
Frequency of fruits consumption among IIUM students
according to Malaysian Food Pyramid
50%
50%
< 2 servings > 2 servings













Figure 2:
Frequency of vegetables consumption among IIUM
students according to Malaysian Food Pyramid
73%
27%
< 3 servings > 3 servings
Objective 2
To assess the knowledge and attitude regarding
fruits and vegetables.

Figure 3:
Percentage of Knowledge and Attitude Score
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Knowledge Attitude
P
e
r
c
e
n
t
a
g
e

(
%
)

Variable
Good
Moderate
Poor


















61.7%
20%
11
%
6.7
%
80.0
%
13.3
%
Table 4:
Frequency distribution of respondents by knowledge on
fruits and vegetables

Knowledge Correct Answer
n(%)
Wrong Answer
n(%)
Balance diet 59 (98.3) 1 (1.7)
Component of fruits and
vegetables
33 (55.0) 27 (45.0)
Food that contains fiber 53 (88.3) 7 (11.7)
Recommendation of fruit
serving
19 (31.7) 41 (68.3)
Recommendation of
vegetable serving

38 (63.3) 22 (36.7)
Fruits can reduce risk of
cancer
47(78.3) 13(21.7)
Vegetables can reduce risk
of cancer
46(76.7) 14(23.3)
Figure 5:
Frequency distribution of respondents by types of attitude towards fruits and vegetables

Attitude statement Agree
n(%)
Fruit is my habit
44(73.3)
Vegetable is my habit
45(75.0)
Fruits assist in weight loss 44(73.3)
Vegetables assist in weight loss 43(71.7)
Eat fruits for snack
42(70.0)
Eat vegetables for snack
18(30.0)
Try new fruit
40(66.7)
Try new vegetable
35(58.3)
Keep fruit in room
19(31.7)
Keep vegetable in room
4(6.7)
Eat salads or fruit for lunch
28(46.7)
Eat salads or vegetables for lunch
37(61.7)
Difficult to get fruits at IIUM cafetaria
37(61.7)
Difficult to get vegetables at IIUM cafetaria
19(31.7)
Cost of fruit is expensive
19(31.7)
Cost of vegetable is expensive
21(35.0)
Dont like taste of fruits
1(1.7)
Dont like the taste of vegetables
7(11.7)
Objective 3
To determine the association between
knowledge and consumption of fruits and
vegetables.




Table 6:
The association between knowledge and fruits intake
per day


Knowledge
score
Fruits consumption
n (%)
< 2 servings > 2 servings
Good 19 (65.5) 18 (58.1)
Moderate 4 (13.8) 8 (25.8)
Poor 6 (20.7) 5 (16.1)

There was no association between knowledge and fruits consumption
per day ( p = 0.500).




Table 7:
The association between knowledge and vegetables
intake per day

Knowledge score Vegetables consumption
n (%)
< 3 servings > 3 servings
Good 19 (65.5) 18 (58.1)
Poor 6 (20.7) 5 (16.1)



There was no association between knowledge and vegetables
consumption per day (p = 0.561).


There was no association between knowledge and fruits and
vegetables consumption per day.

These result was contradict with study done by Bettina and her
colleagues (1999) stated that students who have low knowledge
levels tend to consume low intake of fruits and vegetables.

However, study done by Pollard, Kirk, and Cade (2002) claimed
that intake of fruits and vegetables influenced by availability,
monetary cost, time constrains, media and advertising, social
interactions, familiarity, belief and habit.
Conclusion
50% of the respondents consumed at least 2 servings of
fruits per day which met the recommendation of
Malaysian Food Pyramid, while 27% of respondents
achieved the recommendation for vegetables.

Majority of the respondents had good knowledge
regarding fruits and vegetables consumption, however
their practice was moderate.

There was no association between knowledge and
consumption of fruits and vegetables among
respondents.
Thank you