A comparison of knowledge, attitude and practices related to milk and dairy products among male and female orphanage adolescents in Kuantan, Pahang

Background: Adequate milk and dairy product intake throughout life is essential, particularly among adolescents, for their growth and bone health due to dietary calcium content. Nevertheless, research regarding knowledge, attitude, and practices related to milk and dairy products among Malaysian orphanage adolescents according to gender is scarce. Hence, this study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practices towards milk and dairy products among male and female residents of orphanage institutions. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, seventy (n=70) secondary school-age adolescents (13-17 years old) were recruited through convenience sampling from five (n=5) orphanage institutions in Kuantan, Pahang. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire that consisted of sociodemographic information, knowledge, attitude, and practices of milk and dairy products. The data were analysed with SPSS software using chi-square and independent t-tests, at the statistically significant level of p<0.05. Results: The mean (± SD) knowledge score was 7.87 ± 1.23. Most respondents were categorized in the good knowledge category with the percentage of 70% (n=49), 25.7% (n=18) in the moderate category, and only 4.3% (n=3) of them scored in the poor category. Positive attitudes were demonstrated in more than 50% respondents, although a misconception that milk contributes to weight gain was identified. About 48.5% (n=34) of participants drink milk every day, but only 21.4 % of subjects (n=15), or approximately only one in five of the respondents, consumed two glasses of milk per day. No significant gender differences were identified for knowledge, attitude, and practices. Conclusion: The Majority of adolescents in orphanage institutions showed good knowledge and positive attitudes towards milk and dairy products, but lower intake than recommended, with no differences by gender. Nutrition education and institutional supports are warranted to enhance dairy intake for optimal growth in this population.