Amal Mohamed Elhusein
(1) Khartoum University, Faculty of Nursing, Khartoum, Sudan and Bisha University, King of Saudia Arabia.
Title: Adolescents’ Nutritional Knowledge and Factors Affecting Their Intake of Un healthy Foods: The Perception of First year- AL Khartoum Algadeeda Secondary School Girls
Biography
Biography: Amal Mohamed Elhusein
Abstract
Background: The period of adolescence which is the period of transition between childhood and adulthood has wide cultural and individual variations, is the time of profound biologic, intellectual, psychosocial, and economic change. The aim of this study was to assess the adolescents’ nutritional knowledge and factors affecting their intake of un healthy foods.
Methods: It was a cross-sectional, descriptive, school-based study, conducted at AL Khartoum Algadeeda Secondary School for Girls in September 2016. Structured questionnaire was designed to collect information from a convenient sample of 200 adolescents. Data were collected and analyzed by statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS).
Results:There was more than half of sample (53%) of individuals in the age group (14), the knowledge of adolescents regarding importance of good nutrition was more than half (56%), also there was a statistical significant difference between research question and girls’ adolescent related to nutritional pattern at Al-Khartoum Algadeeda School from September 2016 to march 2017.
Conclusion: The study concluded that the majority of the adolescents of the target population perceive that good nutrition is important for them, but this is not reflected on their nutritional habits.
Recommendations: Specific educational program about good nutrition will help them to gain appropriate nutritional knowledge and then acquire good nutritional behavior to become healthy adolescents.