The relation between nutrition knowledge, attitude, and practices, and body mass index status among young adults aged 18 in Sungai Buloh Vocational College

The double burden of malnutrition has become a global pandemic that is highly related to poor dietary habits. Nutrition knowledge, attitude, and practice are tools that help in understanding the impact of foods on health. This study was conducted to investigate and observe the relationship between nutrition knowledge, attitude and practices (NKAP) and body mass index (BMI) status among young adults aged 18 at Sungai Buloh Vocational College. A cross-sectional study was carried out involving 191 students selected through convenience sampling. Data on nutrition knowledge, attitude and practices were collected using a validated questionnaire, while body mass index was measured using standard anthropometric methods. Findings from this study revealed that 49.7% of respondents had a normal body mass index, while others were underweight (18.8%), overweight (16.8%) and obese (14.7%). The level of good nutrition knowledge was 91.1%, positive nutrition attitude was 96.3% and good nutrition practice was 75.4%, with total mean scores of 7.3 ± 1.64, 33.59 ± 5.23, and 9.74 ± 1.84 respectively. A significant correlation was observed between nutrition attitude and practice (p < 0.05). The Mann-Whitney U test revealed that there was no significant association between nutrition knowledge, attitude, and practice and body mass index (p=0.173, p=0.826, p=0.595, respectively). These findings suggest the need for holistic strategies involving nutrition education, institutional support, and policy interventions to improve health outcomes among vocational students.