BODY COMPOSITION, PHYSICAL FITNESS, NUTRITIONAL HABITS AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT FOOD AND NUTRITION IN FEMALE STUDENTS OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND MEDICINE-RELATED COURSES

The aim of this research was to compare body composition, physical fitness, nutritional habits and knowledge about food and nutrition between female students of physical education (PE) and those studying nursing and physiotherapy. The study was carried out in 2018 and included 137 female PE students and 115 female nursing and physiotherapy students from Biala Podlaska. Body composition was measured with the use of the bioelectrical impedance method. Physical fitness was assessed with the use of the Eurofit test battery. Nutritional habits and knowledge about food and nutrition were assessed using the KomPAN questionnaire which made it possible to determine two indices: pro-healthy diet index (pHDI-10) and non-healthy diet index (nHDI-14). Differences in body composition, physical fitness and nutritional habits were assessed using the Student's t-test or Mann-Whitney U test. Differences in the level of nutritional knowledge between the examined groups were assessed with the χ2 test. Female PE students manifested healthier body composition and higher levels of physical fitness. The level of knowledge about food and nutrition was sufficient in the majority of the study participants. Mean indices of pro-healthy and non-healthy diet fell within the range of low intensity of nutritional features.