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Title
Abstract
Background. Male and female fertility is the subject of much scientific research. However, there is a lack of researches concerning the impact of factors such as gender, nutritional status, place of residence and relationship status on the level of nutritional knowledge of pro-fertility diet among people being in their reproductive age. Therefore, the study aimed to identify differences in the level of nutritional knowledge among women and men aged between 20 and 37 based on the above factors. The main research tool was a questionnaire to be completed by respondents themselves, which was made available to 209 people via social networks. The respondents were selected purposefully, and their participation in the study was anonymous and voluntary. To assess the nutritional knowledge of the respondents, an original index was created, which included four levels of knowledge: insufficient, sufficient, good and very good. A logistic regression analysis was used to identify differences in nutritional knowledge based on selected factors. Furthermore, a hierarchical classification of variables was applied using Ward’s method.
Results and conclusions. It was mainly shown that there was an insufficient level of nutritional knowledge among the respondents (70.81 %). The level of nutritional knowledge was higher among those with a higher educational level (p = 0.005). Furthermore, those in the 26 ÷ 37 age range were more likely to give correct answers. It is worth mentioning that the present study was a pilot one. Thus, the results obtained cannot be regarded as a comprehensive reference in relation to the entire population, which is undoubtedly a limitation of the study. The results of our own research can provide an important reference for future analyses. Therefore, it is necessary to continue updating information in this crucial area of public health.
Keywords
pro-fertility diet, nutritional knowledge, gender, nutritional status, sociodemographic factors