A study on hypertension relevant nutritional knowledge and dietary practices in Chinese college students studying in South Korea / 한국영양학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of hypertension relevant nutrition knowledge on practices for prevention of hypertension in Chinese college students studying in South Korea. METHODS: We conducted a survey of 276 Chinese students studying more than three months in Korean universities who were aged 19 and older about hypertension and sodium relevant nutrition knowledge, intake of salty processed food, hypertension prevention practices, and stages of behavior change for hypertension. RESULTS: The average score on the questionnaire for hypertension relevant nutritional knowledge was 40.62 out of 50 points, and the average score for sodium relevant nutritional knowledge was 24 out of 30 points. Kimchi was the most frequently eaten salty processed food. The average score for hypertension prevention practices was 3.10 out of 5 points. The behavior change stages for prevention of hypertension were contemplation (47.1%), action (32.2%), and pre-contemplation (20.7%). The students received high scores on nutrition knowledge and showed significantly higher scores on the action stage than on pre-contemplation or contemplation. Nutritional knowledge of hypertension and sodium showed positive correlation with hypertension prevention practices, whereas negative correlation with salty processed food intake. CONCLUSION: Development of an education program for Chinese students in Korea on hypertension and sodium relevant nutritional knowledge is needed so that they can practice for prevention of hypertension.