EAP 5 ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET

Name: Nguyen Thuy Vy I.D. B1112014421

Class: EAP1220.5A
Assignment: (please circle) Res. Report Lit. Review Res. Essay

Assignment Question: (write out in full) write a research report about Nutritional
Status. Question: Are students aware of what they are consuming?
YouTube/ Google Drive link:
............................................................................................................................................................
Due date: 09/01/2021. Date submitted: 08/01/2021.

 I hold a copy of this assignment if the original is lost or damaged.

 I certify that no part of this assignment or product has been copied from any
other student’s work or from any other source except where due
acknowledgement is made in the assignment.
 I affirm that no part of this assignment/product has been written/produced for
me by any other person except where collaboration has been authorised by the
teacher concerned.
 I am aware that this work may be reproduced and submitted to plagiarism
detection software programs for the purpose of detecting possible plagiarism
(which may retain a copy on its database for future plagiarism checking).

Note: An examiner or teacher has the right to NOT mark this assignment if
the above declaration has not been signed.

Student’s Signature: Nguyen Thuy Vy Date: 08/01/2021.

EXTENSION – To be approved BEFORE original submission date

Supporting evidence sighted: Yes / No Extension approved / Extension not approved

Research Report
If approved, new submission date ____/____/_____ RESEARCH REPORT
Teacher’s Signature :___________________

| Nguyen
Page Thuy
| 1 Vy EAP1220.5A
 RESEARCH REPORT

NUTRITIONAL STATUS

ARE STUDENTS AWARE OF WHAT THEY ARE CONSUMING?

NGUYEN THUY VY
B1112014421
EAP1220.5A

| Nguyen
Page Thuy
| 2 Vy EAP1220.5A
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT
4

INTRODUCTION 5-
6

METHODOLOGY 7-
8

RESULTS 9-
12

DISCUSSION 13-
14

REFERENCE LIST
15

| Nguyen
Page Thuy
| 3 Vy EAP1220.5A
 APPENDIX 16-
17

| Nguyen
Page Thuy
| 4 Vy EAP1220.5A
 ABSTRACT

Calories play a critical role in human health; the right amount of calories required to sustain

proper life and health should be consumed every day. This research aims to discover how students

in ISB are concerned about the nutritional value of what they are daily eating. With the

questionnaire instrument, 53 subjects responded to 15 questions in an online form created by

Google Form. Through their experiences and habits, participants will respond to those questions.

After collecting data, the result gave a brief picture of the eating habits of students and their

knowledge about their food consumption. The eating habits of students in ISB were not reasonable

that they unconscious of what they are consuming.

INTRODUCTION
| Nguyen
Page Thuy
| 5 Vy EAP1220.5A
 Food is the basic material that the human need to survive and have a healthy life. Every day, a

person needs to have enough essential nutrients to stay healthy, active, and productive. In general,

human health is maintained by consuming adequate amounts of nutrients and drinking sufficient

quantities of water. Whitney, Rolfes (2019) found that almost all people think that what they

usually eat is safe and healthy. What if the truth does not look like their imagination? What if their

thoughts are possible wrong?

Although there are many kinds of research about human eating habits (e.g. Kaur and Hegde 2008;

Ramachandrappa and Farooqi 2011), with different kinds of questions, the question for human

eating habits has not been presented definitely. In an empirical paper, Eertmans, Baeyens, and

Bergh (2001 pp.443-56) implied that efforts to encourage healthy eating habits could benefit from

greater exposure to the concepts of learning and food in the creation of interventions. Moreover,

Medina et al. (2020) found that ‘there are other factors inherent to students’ life that may have a

stronger influence on eating habits.’

Although much work has been done to date, more research needs to be done on people’s

awareness of food consumption. This research report will explore the details of the question: ‘Are

students aware of what they are consuming?’. The purpose of the research is to know more about

students’ knowledge about the nutritional value of what they are eating every day and find out the

answer. It was hypothesized that most students unaware of what they are consuming.

| Nguyen
Page Thuy
| 6 Vy EAP1220.5A
| Nguyen
Page Thuy
| 7 Vy EAP1220.5A
 METHODOLOGY

This research dealt with the awareness of students in ISB about the nutritional value that they are

consuming. This research report was conducted on December 17th, 2020. The population which

was tested in this study were the students of the International School of Business associated with

Western Sydney University. There were 53 students in different classes have participated. The

individuals were chosen randomly includes males and females in ISB school.

This study used a questionnaire as its research instrument because it assembles data faster than

any method and it is the most convenient among all other instruments. The questionnaire was

composed of three significant parts. The first part identified the personal profile of the respondents

in terms of gender, age (1,2). While the second part dealt with students’ daily eating habits (4-10)

and the penultimate part represented how students in ISB were concerned about the ingredients that

they are eating (3, 11-15). It was put on Google Form and sent to respondents via email.

The demographics of the subjects was elicited. The data relevant to the study was transmitted

directly to individual interviewees via primary source using the test questionnaire. The participants

would spend 2-3 minutes to complete all the questions. The time to gather the data was a whole day

| Nguyen
Page Thuy
| 8 Vy EAP1220.5A
 The data was collected and gathered automatically on Google Form and was represented into

graphs and charts. The statistical analyses which were performed on the data were converted into

percent and number of respondents. The attitudes about the nutritional status of each student in ISB

school would be recorded and were compared to determine which attitude was common.

| Nguyen
Page Thuy
| 9 Vy EAP1220.5A
 RESULTS
(It is measured in percentages)

Figure 1

What kind of food that students in ISB prefer to consume

19%

2%

58%
21%

Home Cooked Food Street Food Fast Food Restaurant Food

The diagram below provides information about what kind of food that students in ISB prefer to

consume. At first glance, it is obvious that the number of people who chose home-cooked food as

their favourite food was the highest with 58.5%. Street food accounts for 20.8% of students’

favourite food and this figure was quite close to restaurant food, at nearly 19%. Interestingly, fast

food is popular with teenagers; however, only a small minority (1.9%) left for this.

| Nguyen
Page Thuy
| 10 Vy EAP1220.5A
 Figure 2

How oft en students in ISB check the nutriti onal informati on

before eati ng
How often students in ISB check the nutritional information before eating

50.00%
47%
45.00%
40.00%
35.00%
30.00% 34%
25.00%
20.00%
17%
15.00%
10.00%
5.00% 2%
0.00%
A l w a ys
U s ual ly
S o m e ti m e s
N ever

The column graph illustrates how often students in ISB check the nutritional information before

consuming. Predictably, just a small minority always check nutrition facts (1.9%) while the

percentage of participants who answered that they sometimes check the information was just under

a half (47.2%). Besides, there are a significant number of people who do not care about the calories

at all (34%).

| Nguyen
Page Thuy
| 11 Vy EAP1220.5A
 Figure 3

The way students in ISB balance calories in meals

Common sense 22.60%

Do not care about the calories 43.40%

Follow nutritionist 7.50%

Follow structure on the internet 13.20%

Use app 13.20%

0.00% 5.00% 10.00% 15.00% 20.00% 25.00% 30.00% 35.00% 40.00% 45.00%

The way students in ISB balance calories in meals

The bar graph indicates the way students in ISB balance calories in meals. In sum, the most

noticeable trend is that the rate for students who do not care about the calories was the highest with

almost half of the respondents has chosen; in succession, students who use common sense were the

second highest in the total votes. Looking at details, the percentages of both people who use the app

and who follow structure on the internet were almost exactly the same (13.2%). While following

nutritionist guidance is the most important; however, it just accounts for a small part in total (7.5%).

| Nguyen
Page Thuy
| 12 Vy EAP1220.5A
 Figure 4

Concerned level of students in ISB about the nutritional value

39.60%
40.00%

35.00%

30.00% 26.40%

25.00%
18.90%
20.00%

15.00%
7.50% 7.50%
10.00%

5.00%

0.00%
Not at all concerned Slightly concerned Somewhat Moderately Extremely concerned
concerned concerned

Concerned level of students in ISB about the nutritional value

The chart demonstrates the concerned level of students in ISB about nutritional value. In general,

the percentages of people who do not care or slightly care about nutrition power are much lower

than the percentages of people who really care about it. The number of participants who feel

somewhat concerned about food value reached nearly 40%, showing a higher number than all the

other groups provided.

DISCUSSION
| Nguyen
Page Thuy
| 13 Vy EAP1220.5A
 The study aimed to investigate whether students do not have knowledge of what they are eating.

The results overall partly rejected the hypothesis that students are still aware of and concerned

about their food consumption.

The results indicate that students have a limited amount of knowledge of dietary health

requirements; their food preferences are not necessarily healthy. Students tend to prioritize food

choices according to the convenience and taste of food. The majority of students claim that they

sometimes check the nutritional information before eating but not always. It is possibly caused by

the obliviousness of nutrition and unhealthy eating habits. Contrary to the hypothesized association,

the objects of this research almost feel concerned about the nutritional values. The reason can be

proposed that students in ISB are conscious of the importance of getting enough essential nutrients.

Almost half of the respondents do not balance the calories in their meals. In Vietnam, the calorie

may not be paid a lot of attention; for example, many of the nutrition labels of Vietnamese food

products do not contain the calories.

The main drawback of this study was that there were so many closed-ended questions that the

respondents could not answer precisely what they wanted to answer. As the time of the study was

reduced, the sample size was 53, making it one of the limitations of this analysis. In addition, this

study has been conducted in Vietnamese society, so it is not accurate in all situations. Future

researchers should invest more time gathering data to make the analysis more reliable and more

accurate. Age ranges, sample diversity, and sample size should be more involved in order to make

the results more specific. The questionnaire should include more choices and open questions. In

conclusion, merely understanding the nutrition-productivity relationship will help people make

| Nguyen
Page Thuy
| 14 Vy EAP1220.5A
 smarter decisions and take note of how your food habits impact their life. The recommendations

that can be proposed for this issue is everyone should choose whole grains, eat lean protein such as

fish and chicken instead of red meat, consume plenty of water, use healthy oils, and fill with healthy

products for almost half their plates.

| Nguyen
Page Thuy
| 15 Vy EAP1220.5A
 REFERENCE LIST

1. Eertmans, A, Baeyens, F & Bergh, OV 2001, ‘Food likes and their relative importance in human

eating behavior: review and preliminary suggestions for health promotion’, in Health Education

Research, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 443-56, DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/her/16.4.443

2. Kaur, M & Hegde, AM 2008, ‘Are we aware of what we are, we are what we eat’, International

Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 13-16.

3. Medina, CR, UrbanoMB, Espinosa, AJ & López, AT 2020, ‘Eating Habits Associated with

Nutrition-Related Knowledge among University Students Enrolled in Academic Programs Related

to Nutrition and Culinary Arts in Puerto Rico’, Nutrients, vol. 12, no. 5, pp. 1-14, DOI

https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12051408

4. Ramachandrappa, S & Farooqi, IS 2011, ‘Genetic approaches to understanding human obesity’,

The Journal of Clinical Investigation, vol. 121, no. 6, pp. 2080–86, DOI

https://www.jci.org/articles/view/46044.

5. Whitney, E & Rolfes, SR 2015-2020, Understanding Nutriton, 15th edn, Cengage, Australia.

| Nguyen
Page Thuy
| 16 Vy EAP1220.5A
 APPENDIX

1. What is your gender?

 Male
 Female
 Prefer not to say

2. What is your age?

 Under 18
 18-20
 21-23
 Over 23

3. How concerned are you about nutritional value?

(rate scale 1-5. A value of 1 means not concerned at all and 10 means very concerned)

4. How many snacks do you usually eat a day?

1
2
3
 More than 3

5. How many meals do you usually eat every day?

1
2
3
 More than 3

6. When I am given the choice to eat fast food or healthy food, I choose fast food.
(rate scale 1-5. A value of 1 means completely disagree and 10 means completely agree)

7. How often do you consume fast food/processed foods?

 Never
 Daily
 Weekly
 Monthly

8. How often do you consume vegetable foods?

 Never
| Nguyen
Page Thuy
| 17 Vy EAP1220.5A
  Daily
 Weekly
 Monthly
9. Do you prefer home-cooked meals, eating out, or ordering food?
 Home-cooked meals
 Eating out
 Ordering food ( eg Baemin, Grab, Now,...)

10. What is your favorite kind of food?

 Home-cooked food
 Fast food
 Street food
 Restaurant food

11. How often do you check the nutritional information before eating?
 Always
 Usually
 Sometimes
 Never

12. What is your opinion on the cost of what you eat?

 Fast food is cheaper than healthy food
 Healthy food is cheaper than fast food
 The price of healthy food and fast food is the same

13. How do you balance calories in a meal?

 Use app
 Follow structure on the internet
 Follow nutritionist
 Do not care about calories
 Common sense

14. How important do you think a healthy diet is?

(rate scale 1-5. A value of 1 means not important at all and 10 means very important)

15. Which of the following is the most important to you?

 Carbohydrates
 Protein
 Fruits & vegetables
 Fats

| Nguyen
Page Thuy
| 18 Vy EAP1220.5A