Residential medical students demonstrate a knowledge-practice gap in healthy lifestyle behaviours, with high health awareness but poor adherence to healthy practices.
Among 199 residential undergraduate medical students, 65.3% reported sometimes or often skipping breakfast, 45.7% slept less than six hours per night, and 94.5% used digital devices before bedtime. Despite 69.8% reporting physical activity, only 25.1% exercised daily, indicating a significant gap between health awareness and actual lifestyle practices.
This article is automatically generated from the structured evidence profile behind the claim above. Scores reflect the quality and quantity of available research, not clinical advice.
Residential medical students demonstrate a knowledge-practice gap in healthy lifestyle behaviours, with high health awareness but poor adherence to healthy practices. The current body of evidence comprises 1 study. EvidenceHub rates the overall confidence at 32/100 (low).
The Claim
Residential medical students demonstrate a knowledge-practice gap in healthy lifestyle behaviours, with high health awareness but poor adherence to healthy practices.
This conclusion is most relevant to: Residential undergraduate medical students aged 18-25 years at Shri B. M. Patil Medical College, India (n=199).
What the Research Shows
The conclusion draws on 1 linked study. Highlights from the cited literature:
- ▸Lifestyle Behaviours, Dietary Habits, and Health Awareness Among Residential Undergraduate Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study. (Cureus, 2026) —
How It Works
The proposed biological pathway:
- ▸Medical students have high health awareness due to curriculum
- ▸Demanding academic schedules and hostel living create barriers
- ▸Irregular routines and digital device use disrupt sleep and diet
- ▸Result: Knowledge-practice gap with poor adherence to healthy behaviours
Who Might Benefit
Evidence fit by population:
- ▸Residential undergraduate medical students aged 18-25 years at Shri B. M. Patil Medical College, India (n=199)
Recommended Dose
N/A
Limitations & Caveats
Important context when interpreting this evidence:
- ▸Cross-sectional design prevents causal inference
- ▸Self-reported data may be subject to recall bias
- ▸Single-centre study limits generalizability
- ▸No inferential statistical tests were performed
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of medical students skipped breakfast regularly?▼
65.3% reported sometimes or often skipping breakfast, and 10.6% always skipped breakfast.
How many medical students slept less than six hours per night?▼
45.7% of students reported sleeping less than six hours per night.
Did the students use digital devices before bed?▼
Yes, 94.5% of students used digital devices before bedtime.
What was the main finding regarding health awareness vs. practice?▼
Health awareness was higher than consistent healthy practices across all domains, indicating a knowledge-practice gap.
References
- 1.Saha S, Teli A, Banu Shaikh G, Mullur L. “Lifestyle Behaviours, Dietary Habits, and Health Awareness Among Residential Undergraduate Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study..” Cureus, 2026. PMID: 42465145 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.110959