Knowledge, attitudes and behaviors regarding nutrition among students of the School of Public Health - Tekove Katu in Bolivia

Introduction: Food is an essential component in the socio-cultural and economic context of communities. In Bolivia, malnutrition and food security problems are prevalent, especially in indigenous communities. The "Tekove Katu" Health School is an ideal setting for the implementation of nutritional education programs, given its intercultural approach and the potential impact on the food practices of students and their communities. Methods: Study design: Descriptive, cross-sectional observational study in students from indigenous communities during the month of February - December 2023. Universe and sample: 100% of students enrolled in 2023 were included. Exclusion criteria: Not wanting to participate in the research Not attending during the days in which the questionnaire was applied. Procedure: The data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. Results and discussion: The results indicated that 82.55% of the participants expressed an appropriate conceptualization of healthy eating; However, a significant dissonance was evident between theoretical understanding and eating behaviors. Consumption patterns characterized by a dichotomy between the recognition of nutritional principles (91.86% expressed interest in healthy eating) and suboptimal eating practices (95.38% consumption of sweets, 83.07% consumption of hamburgers). Conclusions: At the "TEKOVE KATU" Health School, there is a predominance of the female gender and a higher concentration of students in the age range of 17 to 19 years. The parents of the students have a low educational level, and most of the students live with more than four people. A positive attitude towards the interest in eating healthily is highlighted, although a preference for foods rich in fats, refined sugars and sodium is also observed, despite recognizing that these are unhealthy. A large majority of students receive limited and unreliable information on food and nutrition, which highlights the need for a more solid nutritional education. It is clear that, in the absence of nutritional education and healthy eating programs, students do not have a solid foundation to consolidate healthy eating habits, which constitutes a public health problem with implications for morbidity and mortality, quality of life, health expenditure and an increase in chronic non-communicable diseases