Analyzing the relationship between eating habits and nutritional status among vocational high school students

Abstract

This study aims to examine: (1) meal frequency; (2) dietary diversity; (3) Energy Adequacy Level (EAL); (4) nutritional status; and (5) the correlation between dietary patterns and nutritional status among students of SMKS Berbudi Yogyakarta. This is a quantitative study using an analytical survey with a cross-sectional design. The correlation test was conducted using Spearman’s Rank. The findings of the study are as follows: (1) the most frequently consumed foods include rice, chicken eggs, tempeh, carrots, bananas, and sweetened condensed milk (SCM), while the least consumed are sweet potatoes, beef, red beans, young jackfruit, rambutan, and cheese; (2) low dietary diversity is found in the categories of staple foods, animal-based and plant-based proteins, fruits, and dairy products, while high frequency is only observed in vegetable consumption; (3) the Energy Adequacy Level (EAL) was found to be low in 29% of students, normal in 56.5%, high in 14.5%, with no students in the very low category; (4) the majority of students (75.8%) had normal nutritional status, while 3.2% were undernourished, 21% were overnourished, and none were severely malnourished or obese; (5) a significant positive correlation was found between dietary patterns and nutritional status, with a p-value of 0.000 (<0.05) and a Spearman correlation coefficient (r) of 0.666, indicating a strong relationship.