Impacto de intervenciones educativas prácticas sobre los conocimientos nutricionales, los hábitos alimentarios y la hidratación en estudiantes de Medicina

Introduction: University education can make it difficult to maintain healthy eating habits due to academic demands, food availability, and time management; practical educational interventions represent a strategy to strengthen nutritional knowledge and promote healthy, mindful food choices. Objective: To describe changes observed in nutritional knowledge, adherence to dietary habits, and beverage consumption during an educational intervention aimed at second- and third-semester medical students at the Franz Tamayo Private University (El Alto campus). Methodology: A descriptive analysis was conducted of an educational intervention comprising seven activities carried out over seven weeks, involving 20 students with regular attendance and available measurements. The General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (GNKQ), the KIDMED index, and the 15-item Beverage Intake Questionnaire (BEVQ-15) were used, administered at different stages of the intervention. Results: Regarding the GNKQ, the proportion of participants classified as having low knowledge dropped from 90% in the pre-test to 0% in the post-test, while the high-knowledge category rose from 0% to 80%. For the KIDMED index—administered at the beginning and end of the same session—the optimal category increased from 0% to 30%, although this immediate change does not demonstrate a sustained shift in habits. Regarding the BEVQ-15, reported mean water consumption increased from 442 to 577 mL/day, a difference of 135 mL/day. Conclusions: Favorable changes were observed in the distribution of nutritional knowledge and in reported water consumption.