Comparison of milk and dairy products consumption habits of students who received / not received nutritional education at yeditepe university

This study, determined the amount of milk and dairy consumption of students receiving and not receiving nutritional education at Yeditepe University between March 15–April 15, 2018, detecting the differences between the knowledge levels of students about milk and its products, and the relationship among consumption of this nutrient group and individual's body mass indexes (BMI) were made for examination of the relationship among them. 45 male and 157 female students at the average age of 22.37±1,34 years from the 3rd and 4th grades of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and Faculty of Education are participated in the study. Distribution of students by departments; 67 Nutrition and Dietetics, 40 Nursing, 27 Psychological Counseling and Guidance, 24 Sociology, 18 History, 16 Teaching Mathematics. A questionnaire form containing 28 questions in total that interrogates social-demographic characteristics and milk and dairy products consumption habits of the participants as a data collection tool, and Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) is used to interrogate milk and dairy products consumption frequency and its amount. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 21.0 statistical package program was used to evaluate the data. In our study, according to the data obtained from the answers given to the questions asked to measure the level of knowledge of individuals about milk and dairy products, individuals who received nutrition education had more information about this food group compared to those who did not. When the enough consumption status of dairy products was interrogated, it was concluded that individuals who received nutritional education (54.2%) consumed statistically more milk and products than those who did not receive nutritional education (10.5%). In addition, it was found that the participants who received nutritional education (80.4%) were statistically more in the normal weight class compared to those who did not (65.3%) and the difference between the educational status and the BMI grouping was statistically meaningful (p <0.05). Based on these results, trainings and seminars can be organized, brochures can be distributed, and public spot advertisements can be prepared to explain the importance of milk and dairy products to individuals who have not received nutrition education. Keywords: Nutrition, BMI, Milk, Dairy products, Calcium