Fast Food Consumption by the Students - Term Paper Example

Title Name Course Tutor Date Contents Contents 2 Title: Fast food consumption by the students 2 Introduction: 3 Aim: 4 Method: 5 Results: 8 Discussion: 9 Conclusion: 10 Bibliography 10 Appendices: 11 Title: Fast food consumption by the students Introduction: The study of fast foods is very important to the whole society as way of knowing the nutritional consumption by the people. We understand that our bodies need nutrients for functionality of the body organs and hence eating habits influence the type of nutrients consumes.(Erten, 2006) The students have the notion that they have freedom since now they are not under their parents rules. The rapid change of the technology has made a drastic change in the eating habits. The freedom induces the independence of making own decisions of eating frequently and more so there is peer pressure i.e. the influence by the other students. From the frequent consumptions, the students prefer the fast foods. (Cousineau, 2004) There has been an observation that the students have adapted to a trend of consuming the fast foods and this has emerged as a culture since they need to satisfy their need and demand at a very short span. The fast foods are made up of fats, sugar, sodium and cholesterol which are in high amounts. The fast foods lack the sufficiency of Vitamin A and C. There has been an increase of supply kiosks near the schools and the supply of fried chicken, French fries, pizza, the hamburger and others to the students has increased at a fast rate. (Ganasegeran, 2012) Theory of planned behavior model: This model which helps in measuring the behaviors of the students consumption of fast foods, proposes on how the action of the students can be guided. The model is used to predict the happening of a certain behavior among the young adults. The model will try to explain the intentions of the students to consume the fast foods. It predicts the deliberate behaviors of the students. The model is inclusive of the attitudes, the subjective norms, the perceived norms, the behavioral intentions and finally the behavior of the students (Schlosser, 2001). The model is the right choice for the study since it will be able to measure the intention of the students, the attitudes toward the behavior and details of the behavior, the extent to which the student is able to implement the behavior. It enhances direct and indirect measures which will enhance the reliability of the theory in the study. (Bhaskaran, 2002) The attitude A student claims that eating green vegetables and fruits will help improve the functionality of the body organs and hence they will help in healthy improvement of the body. Subjective norm: The student has classmates who like taking pizzas and fried chickens Perceived control: The student has to convenience her friends to stop eating the fast foods and embrace the nutritious foods or else she will be overwhelmed by the opinions of her friends. Aim: The aim of the study is to determine the reason behind fast food consumption habits of the students and the young adults. Fast food is the name given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. Fast foods can also include any meal that takes short time to prepare. The term typically refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients and served to the customer in a packaged form for take away. The most popular fast foods include hamburgers, French fries, pizza, fried chicken and doughnuts. Fast food consumption is popular among children and adolescents. In as much as there have been numerous cases of fast foods causing conditions such as obesity and diabetes, fast foods have popularly come to be considered as a timesaving alternative to home cooked meal for parents, working class people and students. Consumption is also known as eating which is the act of ingesting of food to provide for the body organisms which are needed for the growth and energy of a human being. Human beings are known to consume foods at specific times of the day and with the occasion. A student is a learner who attends an educational program but in our case student we define the student as a learner who is in college or university who are in their fast, second, third and fifth year (Driskell, 2005). Method: Sample The sample set contained of 391 students who were in colleges and in universities. They were 191 male and 199 female students who had to fill in a questionnaire. The students came from different schools, they were of different ages, their places of residence were different as there were those who were living in the school dormitory, in a house with other students, in a house alone, and with their families. There are those who lived in urban areas and those who lived in rural areas. The level of economic status of the students and their parents were variables also considered, type of culture they came from and considered the diversity of the students. Demographic characteristics that may influence the decision of individuals to consume fast food or not to consume fast food for a given meal are many. They include age, sex, education level, sex, work per week, and the meal of the day the decision is being made for, income or whether the individual or their family owns or rents their home. (Turner, 2006) Middle school students who are adolescents may consume fast foods more frequently due to their detrimental need for fast foods for their growth and development. The adolescent period is when physical, mental and development are rapid resulting in high energy and nutritional needs. Culture and Religion plays a major role in determining the food choice. Culture is made up of norms, values and beliefs. Religion is a clear example of beliefs while values form the motivations of consumers when buying. Religion which is part of culture influences our food choices. Myths form part of our beliefs. Some religions embrace extreme alternatives diets to be close to nature. Christianity is quite liberal to the fast food culture since people are allowed to make their own choice in terms of what they eat. 1. Choosing the participants and how questionnaire was distributed The participants were chosen randomly to avoid bias and the questionnaires were distributed to the sampled schools and a copy of it was sent to the schools administration through the email. Then the students were sampled from the school register in order not to interview a person who isn’t a student. For convenience purposes we had to take the questionnaires ourselves and monitor the group in the case study in order to have a reliable data. The sample chosen represented the diversity of the students in all the universities. 2. The questionnaire The questionnaire that was used replicated the theory planned behavior model since it explains thoroughly the attitude of the students towards the fast food consumption. It tries to break down the variables that predict the eating habits of the students which are of high priority to the case study. The questionnaire is designed to the verification of the model. The questionnaire was set out and scored by adhering to the following procedure: Defining the population under study and coming into consensus on how best to get the best sample. Systematically defining the behavior of the population of interest Concluding on ways to measure and determine the intentions of the participants Identifying the occasional merits and demerits of the performing behavior Identifying the significant groups of people who would approve or disprove the perceived behavior. Determining the challenges of the and the facilitating factors which will be encountered in the study of the behavior A pilot test need to be administered Assess the test and the retest where the questionnaire is administered with a follow up questionnaire which is administered to the same group and a convenient time interval where their decisions won’t be drastically changed. The attitude: The questions under this part will cover the measure of direct attitude and the indirect attitude towards the fast food consumption among the students. An evaluation scale is used to be able to assess the results from the collected information of direct attitude. The subjective norm: The questions under this part will cover the options of the significant persons and use the liker scale which will help to identify the score of the social influence to the consumption of fast foods. The scores o this part must be show consistency since it is from the same group. The perceived control: The questions on this part will consider the participants confidence, that they are capable of performing their own behaviors despite the influence of the target behavior. This will be achieved by allowing the participants to show their self efficacy and the beliefs of their control capability on the consumption of the fast foods. How difficult is it for them to consume? How confident are they when they are consuming? Is the decision of consuming up to them, Do factors beyond their control influence them? The liker scale should have the items in it arranged where the ends of it are mix of positive and negative. The score will be obtained by obtaining the mean of the item scores to give an overall perceived behavioral control score. Results: Information about the students: The mean age of the participants were 18 years where the females had a mean age of 17 years and the male students had a mean age of 19 years. Of all the students that participated, 20 percent were in their fast year, 15 percent in their second year, 25 percent in their third year, 23 percent in their fourth year and 1 percent fifth.99 percent of all the students are single while 1 percent is married. Of all the students 70 percent live in dormitories, 18 percent live with their friends, 5 percent live with their families, 4 percent live alone and 3 percent live with their relatives. Students fast food consumption habits: This is shown in Table 1 in the appendix. Discussion: Since the aim of the study is to determine the reason behind fast food consumption habits of the students and the young adults. The findings have made the research study successful since it has made us realize the factors that influence the acquisition of the fast foods habits by the students. The studies that have been carried out show that there is high rate of going too fast food restaurants in both genders (Somaz 2006). According to Surucuoglu and Cakiroglu(2000) in the study they state the most preferred foods with reference to taste , cleanliness and hygiene of the restaurants. According to gender the females showed the high rate of consuming the sugary products (French, 2001). Limitations of the study: Sampling procedures: The study sample does not represent the whole population of the students in universities. Therefore the future researchers should employ a wider population sample with diversity to inform the public policy on the student fast food consumption habits. Measurement issues: The use of single item scores rather than the multiple time scores limits the results and therefore multiple choice formats should be considered. Implications of the study: With the continuity of the students consuming fast foods, more research will help the government to detect the effects of the fast foods to the population. The study is in parallel with other studies carried out since they have shown a significant relation through exposure to fast foods and the social norms. The government should set policies of labeling the fast foods in order to increase consumer’s knowledge and influence their attitudes. Conclusion: In the study we were able to find out that the rate of fast food consuming among the university and college students was very high. They have preferred consume the diet turning it to a part of living a simple life in the school. The studies that should be carried out in future are to assess whether the restaurants offer healthy menus and whether they include nutritional facts on the menus. Bibliography Bhaskaran, H. .. (2002). Buyer beliefs,attitudes and behavior: foods with therapeutic claims. J Consum Mark , 591-606. Cousineau, G. ,. (2004). A collaborative approach to nutrition education for college students. J Am Coll Health , 79 - 84. Driskell, K. ,. (2005). Few differences found in the typical eating and physical activity habits of lower-level and upperlevel university students. J Am Diet Assoc , 798 - 801. French, S. ,.-S. (2001). Fast food restaurant use among adolescents: associations with nutrient intake, food choices and behavioral and psychosocial variables. Int J Obes , 1823 - 33. Ganasegeran. (2012). Social and Psychological factors affecting eating habits among University students in a Malaysian Medical School: a cross-sectional study. Nutrition Journal , 48. Schlosser. (2001). Fast Food Nation: The Dark side of the All-American Meal. Houghton: Mifflin Books. Turner, K. M. (2006). Food for thought: Parents’ perspectives of child Influence. British Food Journal , 181-191. Appendices: Appendix 1 Questionnaire 1. Are you a student? Yes No 2. What is your age? 3. State your gender Male Female 4. State your marital status Married Single 5. Where do you reside? Dormitory In your own house With other relatives In a house with the family Alone With friends 6. What is your frequency of the consumptions of fast foods? Everyday 1-2 times a week 3-4 times a week 5-6 times a week Rarely 7. What are the factors influencing your fast food consumption behavior? Acquaintances University life Inability to cook Easy access Taste 8. Do you visit the mushroom shopping malls and restaurants? Yes No 9. At what time do you visit them? Weekends Weekdays Both 10. Who are the persons that you visit with? Friends Family Alone Appendix 2 Table 1: Fast food consumption habits in students: Female Male total N % N % n % Fast-food consumption Everyday 1-2 times a week 3-4 times a week 5-6 times a week rarely 25 90 44 19 119 8.4 30.3 14.8 6.4 40.1 7 36 15 4 42 6.6 34.5 14.8 3.7 40.4 32 126 59 23 161 8.0 31.4 14.8 5.7 40.1 Factors influencing Acquaintances University/college life Inability to cook Ease to access Taste 37 83 24 82 71 12.5 27.9 8.0 27.7 23.9 12 22 17 32 21 11.5 21.2 16.3 30.8 20.2 49 105 40 114 92 12.2 26.2 10.2 28.5 22.9 Visiting restaurants Yes No 293 4 98.7 1.3 100 4 96.2 3.8 393 8 96.0 2.0 Time of visiting the fast food restaurants Weekdays Weekends both 60 107 126 20.5 36.5 43.0 100.0 22 32 46 100 22.0 32.0 46.0 100 82 139 172 393 20.8 35.4 43.8 100.0 Visiting the fast food restaurants. Alone With friends With the family 6 286 5 2.0 96.3 1.7 6 96 2 5.8 92.3 1.9 12 382 7 3.0 95.3 1.7 Read More