Nutritional Knowledge and Food Practice among Reproductive aged Women of Rainas Municipality, Lamjung

Abstract

Introduction: Nutrition knowledge covers principles related to diet and health, including disease and diet correlation, nutrient sources, and dietary guidelines. Food consumption pertains to how and why people eat, and knowledge of dietary practices is vital in evaluating nutrition knowledge. Healthy eating habits improve immunity, while unhealthy behavior may result in malnutrition, obesity, and other chronic diseases. The study aimed to determine the nutritional knowledge and practice among aged women of Raina’s municipality in the Lamjung district.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study involving 233 participants was conducted with prior ethical approval obtained for data collection. Information was collected through face-to-face interviews using semi-structured questionnaires. Convenient sampling was utilized for both area and respondent selection. The gathered data were coded and entered on Epidata then exported to SPSS version 26 for descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. 

Results: The study revealed that a notable proportion of participants, specifically 55.5%, possessed a good level of knowledge concerning nutrition, whereas 44.5% demonstrated a deficiency in their understanding. In parallel, a majority of the respondents, comprising 56.7%, exhibited poor food practices, while 43.3% showcased good practices. 

Conclusions: The study concludes that while respondents demonstrated good knowledge regarding nutrition, their practical implementation of this knowledge in their dietary practices was relatively poor. This highlights the need for interventions and strategies aimed at bridging the gap between knowledge and practice to promote healthier behaviors and improve overall nutrition among the studied population.