Decoding Food Labels: A Study on the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Young Medical Students in Chennai

Background Food package labels play a crucial role in promoting healthy dietary choices by providing essential nutritional information. Medical students, as future healthcare professionals, must be well-informed about food labeling to guide patients in making healthier choices. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) regarding food package labels among Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) students in Chennai, South India. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 425 undergraduate medical students. Participants were selected by their year of study using a stratified random sampling method. Data were collected using a structured, pre-tested questionnaire covering socio-demographics and KAP related to food package labels. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA), employing descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, and Kendall's tau correlation to determine associations between variables. Results About 57% of the participants were females. A majority (96.9%) acknowledged the presence of food labels, and 86.1% understood their purpose. However, only 27.5% reported reading food labels regularly. While 65.2% demonstrated good knowledge, only 54.4% exhibited poor attitudes toward food labels despite recognizing their importance and 53% actively applied this knowledge in purchasing decisions. Female students had better knowledge (66.1% vs. 63.9%, p=0.02), but a more negative attitude compared to males (58.7% vs. 48.6%, p=0.01). Kendall's tau correlation showed a significant positive relationship between KAP scores. Conclusion The findings of this study reveal a significant gap between knowledge and actual utilization of food package labels among MBBS students in Chennai. A relatively low percentage of students reported regularly reading labels or incorporating nutritional information into their purchasing decisions, indicating a disconnect between awareness and application. Furthermore, while female students showed a higher level of knowledge compared to their male counterparts, they also exhibited a more negative attitude toward the importance and utility of food labels. This knowledge-practice gap suggests that mere awareness is insufficient to influence health-conscious behavior and that underlying perceptions and motivations play a critical role in translating knowledge into practice.