Dietary Changes of First-year Foreign Students Studying at Yerevan State University, College of Health Sciences

Abstract

Abstract Objectives: In a foreign country student diets often quickly deteriorate leading to unhealthy habits that may have adverse effects on their health. The dietary patterns of foreign students in Armenia whose number increased since late 90s have never been evaluated. Of a greater importance is the need to assess the dietary changes of foreign medical students, since healthy practices adopted early in life may not only improve their health, but also enhance their psychological readiness to participate in creation of healthy behavior among their peers. This study, aimed to evaluate the patterns and extent to which the first year foreign students studying at Yerevan State Medical University change their dietary practices. Methods: Study utilized one-group pre-test post-test design. Sample included 144 newly arrived foreign medical students who had not been diagnosed with any health conditions. The nutritional intake was obtained through the analysis of an average daily set of food items, derived from a self-administered questionnaire. The post-test was conducted three months after the pre-test. McNemar’s and tests were performed for data analysis. Results: Data analysis revealed statistically significant decrease in consumption of meat, milk, vegetable, fruit and bread groups at posttest. Consumption of fat and sweets group was significantly increased. At post-measure the mean reported intakes of meat, vegetable, fruit and bread groups were significantly lower compared to Food Guide Pyramid requirements. Frequencies of having breakfast and lunch also decreased at post-test. Body Mass Index statistically significantly decreased from pre- to post-measure. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that dietary habits of foreign medical students significantly deteriorate during their first year of study, which, in turn, may have substantial impact on student health as well as academic performance. The revealed dietary alterations suggest need for further analysis that will determine the extent of their dietary changes over time, as well as the influence of other behavioral and environmental factors.