The Impact of Nutritional Quality on the Students’ Health

Abstract

Aim: To study the nutritional quality and its impact on the health of the students of higher education institutions. Material and Methods: 647 students were interviewed. A questionnaire, which contains 17 questions and is aimed at studying the quality of students' nutrition, was created by authors. Experimental (EG, n = 60) and control (CG, n = 60) groups were formed. The EG included the students whose diet was rational while studying, the CG included the students whose diet was irrational. The level of students' health was examined at the end of studying according to the methodology of professor G.L. Apanasenko. Results: It was found that only 30.6% of students ate 3-4 times a day, 14.4% - twice a day, 49.8% did not follow any dietary regimen, and 7.9% of students would not eat breakfast at al 43.7% of male students and 53.3% of female students did not follow a dietary regimen at all. A comparative analysis of the physical health of students of EG and CG showed that among both male and female students, the students whose diet was rational had significantly better (p<0.001) level of health. Conclusions: It was determined that the majority of students had low nutritional quality while studying: nutrition was irrational, incomplete, and not varied. This does not contribute to a healthy lifestyle of modern students and can negatively affect the efficiency of their future professional activities.