EVALUATION OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, AND BEHAVIORS REGARDING SUS TAINABLE NUTRITION

Çavdar M., Çapaş M.

CUMHURIYET 17TH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON APPLIED SCIENCES , Ankara, Türkiye, 23 Nisan 2026, ss.177-178, (Özet Bildiri)

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
  • Basıldığı Şehir: Ankara
  • Basıldığı Ülke: Türkiye
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.177-178
  • Erciyes Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Sustainable nutrition aims to meet nutritional needs while preserving natural resources, reducing environmental impact, and sustaining safe food systems for future generations. This study assessed university students’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding sustainable nutrition and compared students in health-related and non-health-related fields. This cross sectional study was carried out among students studying at Erciyes University between December 2021 and March 2022. A total of 550 individuals were reached, 318 students who met the inclusion criteria were included in the study. Data were collected through an online questionnaire covering socio-demographic characteristics, dietary and lifestyle habits, sustainable nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and food consumption frequency. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 24.0 software. The chi-square test was used for categorical variables, p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. The mean age of participants was 21.4±2.1 years, 78.6% were female. While 57.5% of students reported considering environmental friendliness in food choices, 40.1% stated that they didn’t have sufficient knowledge about sustainable nutrition. Students in health-related fields had significantly higher rates of awareness and self-reported knowledge regarding sustainable nutrition compared to those in non-health fields (p=0.001). However, no significant difference was found between groups in terms of behavior scores (p>0.05). Additionally, a considerable proportion of students had inadequate consumption of vegetables, fruits, legumes, and oilseeds. Although students in health-related fields had higher sustainable nutrition knowledge, this was not adequately reflected in their behaviors. These findings suggest that knowledge alone is insufficient and that comprehensive, practice-based educational strategies are needed to support behavioral change. Keywords: Sustainable nutrition, dietary behavior, knowledge level, awareness