The Relationship between Nutrition Knowledge and Eating Frequency with Anemia: A Nutrition Perspective from Islamic Boarding Schools

Abstract

Anemia remains a common undernutrition problem among adolescent girls. Adolescent girls are vulnerable to anemia due to their increased nutrient needs for growth and monthly blood loss through menstruation. Poor eating habits, such as low meal frequency and unbalanced nutritional intake, can exacerbate the risk of anemia. Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) are a place for adolescents to learn and live. They are expected to provide nutrition education and adequate food provision for them. This study aims to determine the relationship between nutritional knowledge and eating frequency with the incidence of anemia. The study design used a cross-sectional approach, with a sample size of 75 female students residing at the Islamic boarding school. The sample was selected using purposive sampling. Data were collected through Hb examination to determine anemia and interviews using questionnaires to obtain data on nutritional knowledge and eating frequency. The correlation analysis was performed using the Spearman correlation test. The results showed that 16% of the students had anemia, 58.7% ate twice a day, and 54.7% had insufficient knowledge. The results of the Spearman’s Rank correlation test showed a p value of 0.019 (p < 0.05), which means there is a relationship between nutritional knowledge and anemia, and a p value of 0.553 (p > 0.05), which means there is no relationship between eating frequency and anemia. Nutrition education is needed to improve nutritional knowledge, especially regarding anemia and balanced nutrition in students, and to encourage a balanced diet to prevent anemia in this group.