Students Knowledge towards Healthy Lifestyle in Thi-Qar Technical Institution, Iraq

Background: Healthy lifestyle practices have been emphasized as an essential factor in health promotion and illness prevention. Individuals who engaged good lifestyle practices early in childhood are better able to tolerate health hazards later in life. Objectives of this study was to assess the students’ knowledge about healthy lifestyle in Thi-Qar Technical Institute. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire study of 126 university students conducted at the Thi-Qar Technical Institute. Pre-tested, structured questionnaires were employed. A stratified random sample approach was applied to guarantee representation from different academic departments, age groups, and genders. Results: A total of 126 students participated, of which75.4% were female. 58.7% were aged between 20 to 24 years. More than half (75.4 %) of the study participants were female. 54% of students had a medium knowledge level, followed by 42% whose knowledge level was good, while 4% had a poor knowledge level. Our study found no statistically significant relationship between the level of students’ knowledge about a healthy lifestyle and demographic characteristics (P-value>0.05). Conclusion: Overall students’ knowledge about a healthy lifestyle were acceptable. Intervention educational programs can greatly enhance students' healthy lifestyle behaviors and health outcomes.