Knowledge, Attitudes, and Food Consumption Behaviors among Working-Age People in the Responsible Areas of Ban Yuan Lae Subdistrict Health Promotion Hospital, Pho Sadet Subdistrict, Mueang District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province

Abstract

This research aimed to study 1) personal factors, knowledge, attitudes, food consumption behaviors, and nutritional status, 2) relationships between personal factors, knowledge, and attitudes with food consumption behaviors, and 3) relationships between personal factors, knowledge, attitudes, and food consumption behaviors with nutritional status among working-age people in the responsible areas of Ban Yuan Lae subdistrict health promotion hospital, Pho Sadet Subdistrict, Mueang District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province.

This cross-sectional descriptive study examined working-age population, totaling 3,207 persons. Samples were 394 individuals determined using Krejcie & Morgan’s formula and selected through proportional stratified random sampling. Data were collected using questionnaires and were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, Chi-square and Pearson's correlation coefficient.

The results revealed that 1) overall participants’ food consumption knowledge was at a moderate level (=0.64, SD=0.14), food consumption attitudes at a good level (=3.81, SD=0.42), and food consumption behaviors at a good level (=3.77, SD=0.43). The body mass index (BMI) of 40.92% of participants was normal while 59.90% of the participants were classified as overweight or obese; 50.51% had normal waist circumference (WC) while 49.49% had above-normal waist circumference; 2) educational level, food consumption knowledge, and food consumption attitudes were significantly associated with food consumption behaviors at p=0.05; and 3) age, marital status, and occupation were significantly associated with BMI and WC, while education level and food consumption attitudes were significantly associated with WC at p=0.05.