Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Soft Drinks and its association with gender among Nursing Students, Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract

It has been recognized that soft drinks have become the third most consumed beverage worldwide. In contrast, it has a detirmental effect on health. Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of soft drink consumption and determine its association with gender among nursing students in Karachi, Pakistan. Methods: This cross-sectional study was accomplished at three nursing institutions in Karachi from 1^st January 2018 to 30^th June 2018. In this study, there was a total of 369 students of male and female gender were enrolled for the study. Subjects were approached by a non-probability convenient sampling method. Self-structured and pretested questionnaire was used for the collection of data. Results: Among 369 subjects, the majority of 261 (70.7%) were male, and 315 (85.4%) were single. 310 (84%) participants knew the deleterious effects of soft drinks. More than 85% admitted that soft drinks are bad for health. Two knowledge questions heard about soft drinks and the idea of the bad effects of soft drinks showed statistically significant associations with gender variables (p-values < 0.05). Whereas only attitude questions regarding the amount of drink students prefer and one practice question related to favorite drink were found to be significantly associated with gender variable (p-values < 0.05). Conclusion: Most nursing students had a fair knowledge of soft drink and their hazardous effects on their health. Despite knowing the harmful consequences, nursing students consume soft drinks.