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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.

Last updated: Jul 23, 2026•0 RCTs•📖 Read as article →

Evidence Score

Evidence Score32/100
Human RCT☆☆☆☆☆
Meta-analysis☆☆☆☆☆
Mechanism★★★★★
Safety★★★★☆
Confidencelow

Study Evidence

Study 1. Lifestyle Behaviours, Dietary Habits, and Health Awareness Among Residential Undergraduate Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.

observational

Saha S, Teli A, Banu Shaikh G, Mullur L · Cureus (2026)

Participants: N/A
Duration: Not specified (cross-sectional)
Intervention: Not applicable (observational study assessing current behaviours and awareness)
Outcome: Dietary habits (breakfast skipping), sleep patterns (hours of sleep, screen time before bed), physical activity levels, nutrition label reading, health awareness
Effect Size: N/A
Population: Residential undergraduate medical students aged 18-25 years at Shri B. M. Patil Medical College, India (n=199)

Result:

PubMed: 42465145DOI: 10.7759/cureus.110959

Mechanism Graph

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

Limitations

  • ⚠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.

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References

  1. 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
Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Evidence scores reflect the quality and quantity of available research, not clinical recommendations. Always consult a healthcare professional before starting any supplement or intervention.