Abstract

The alarming rise in malnutrition among adolescents underscores the critical need for improved nutritional knowledge and healthier dietary practices. For this reason, promoting proper nutrition education and dietary practices among students is essential for ensuring their overall well-being, as mandated by Republic Act No. 11148, or the Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act, which emphasizes the importance of proper nutrition during critical growth stages. This study aimed to assess the level of nutritional knowledge in the areas of (1) Facts and Information and (2) Skills Acquired Theoretically or Experimentally, and to determine the level of dietary practices among high school students in the areas of (1) Household Organization and Planning and (2) Choice of Food and Eating Practices. It also sought to determine significant differences when considering variables such as sex, grade level, and socio-economic status, and to investigate the correlation between nutritional knowledge and dietary practices. The participants in the study were selected using a combination of stratified random sampling and simple random sampling techniques. Data was collected through physical copies of survey questionnaires distributed to participants, and statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS and Google Sheets to evaluate the gathered data. The findings revealed that high school students were generally “Highly Knowledgeable” about nutrition, with lower grades (7, 8, and 9) rated as “Knowledgeable” and higher grades (10, 11, and 12) as “Highly Knowledgeable.” Dietary practices were consistently rated as “Very Good” across all sex, grade level, and socio-economic groups. However, significant differences were found in nutritional knowledge among grade levels, specifically between grade 8 and grade 11, as well as grade 9 and grade 11, and among socio-economic status groups, particularly between middle-income and high-income students. In terms of dietary practices, significant differences were observed in socio-economic status, with variations between low-income and middle-income students, as well as middle-income and high-income students. A significant moderate correlation between nutritional knowledge and dietary practices was also identified. These findings highlight the need to strengthen nutrition education programs in schools to further improve nutritional knowledge and dietary practices while maintaining the favorable results observed among students, in alignment with Republic Act No. 11148.

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