Assessment of Nutrition Knowledge of Students Enrolled in Human Performance and Leisure Studies Courses at Historically Black Colleges University

Introduction: Approximately one-third of all college students aged 18-29 were classified as overweight or obese, increasing their risk for chronic disease. Nutritional knowledge is an important first step to developing strategist to improve the food choices of college students and promote healthy lifestyle behaviors. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the current nutritional knowledge of students enrolled in courses within the Human Performance and Leisure Studies (HPLS) Department at an HBCU. Methods: Paper based surveys were used to administer the 56-question Nutritional Knowledge Questionnaire (NKQ) for students enrolled in HPLS courses in Spring 2017. Results: Response rate was 65.6% (n=236). Gender distribution was equal among the surveyed students (45.3% male vs. 53.8% females). The majority reported majoring in sports science and fitness management (SSFM) (76.7%), were between 18-24 years old (86.9%) with a self-identified ethnic origin of Black or African American (89.8%). The average nutritional knowledge score was 49.2 +/- 9.8 or 44.8%. Knowledge of diet-disease relationship was higher in females (5.4 +/- 1.9) compared to males (4.8 +/- 2.3), p = 0.03. Conclusion: In this study, we found a need to improve nutritional knowledge in college students enrolled in select HPLS courses in the spring of 2017 at an HBCU. The findings highlight a gap in nutrition education and the opportunity to develop courses or programs aimed at healthful eating for students majoring in SSFM or attending an HBCU.