RESEARCH

PROJECT NAVEEN JOSEPH SABAN

RAHUL K ANILKUMAR
 TITLE
ASSESSMENT OF DIETARY HABITS AMONG
COLLEGE STUDENTS IN PATHANAMTHITTA
TEXT

INTRODUCTION
College students often juggle a busy schedule filled with classes, extracurricular activities, and social
commitments. This fast-paced lifestyle can significantly impact their dietary habits, often leading to choices
that aren't the healthiest.
Here's a breakdown of what research reveals about college students' eating habits:
Lower Intake of Key Food Groups: Studies consistently show college students tend to consume less than the
recommended amount of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains [1]. This lack of essential nutrients can lead to
vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
Convenience Over Quality: Busy schedules and limited budgets often push students towards convenient,
processed foods that are generally high in unhealthy fats, sugars, and sodium, but low in nutritional value [2].
Easy access to fast food restaurants and vending machines on campus further contributes to this trend.
TEXT

Skipping Meals: Breakfast is a frequent casualty, with students rushing to class without eating [3]. Irregular
meal patterns can disrupt metabolism and lead to unhealthy snacking later in the day.
Stress Eating: The pressures of academic life can lead to emotional eating, where students use food to cope
with stress [4]. This can contribute to weight gain and unhealthy food choices.
Factors Affecting Dietary Choices:
Financial constraints: College students may have limited budgets, making it difficult to afford healthy, fresh
produce and organic options.
Time constraints: A packed schedule may leave little time for planning, preparing, and cooking nutritious
meals.
Living arrangements: Students living off-campus often lack access to healthy cooking facilities and readily
available fresh food options.
TEXT

Justification for study :

Assessing dietary habits among college students can help us understand their
nutritional needs and develop strategies to promote healthy eating on campus.
TEXT

OBJECTIVES
1. To assess the dietary habits of college students in Thiruvalla,
Pathanamthitta.
2. To evaluate health benefits and risks assosiated each emerging
trends.
TEXT

METHODOLOGY
Study design : Cross sectional study

Study population : Adults both gender situated in thiruvalla Pathanamthitta

Sample size : Considering Dietary habits among college students— 3.84*pq/l^2=

3.84*50*50/5*5=384

Sample sise rounded off to 500

Sampling method : convinient random sampling

TEXT

Study instrument and data collection

→ data collected using self administered pretsted close ended questionnaire.
→ The questionnaire comprised of 19 questions.
A. 3 on demographic information

B. 8 on dietary habits

C. 8 on nutrition trends

Statistical analysis
The results will be presented in charts and tables in order to the understand the emerging trends on nutuition and
Dietary health in public health.

Ethical considerations
Ethical consent will be taken from all the participates before the study.
TEXT

REFERENCES
1. Nelson, Mary E., et al. “Fruit and vegetable intake of US adults: What we eat in America, NHANES
2007-2010.” Food Surveys Research Group Dietary Data Brief No. 12. US Department of Agriculture, 2014.

2.Vella-Zarb, Rachel A., and Barbara Lohse. “College students’ perceptions of campus vending
machines and its relation to their eating habits.” Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 41.5
(2009): 340-348.

3. 1. Adams, Marc A., et al. “Breakfast habits, nutritional status, body weight, and academic
performance in children and adolescents.” Journal of the American Dietetic Association 105.5 (2005):
743-760. Link

4.El Ansari, Walid, and Christiane Stock. “Is the health and wellbeing of university students
associated with their academic performance? Cross sectional findings from the United Kingdom.”
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 6.10 (2009): 2593-2605. Link
TEXT

QUESTIONNAIRE
1. ** Age:**
- Under 18
- 18-25
- 26-35
- 36-45
- 46-55
- 56 and above

2. ** Gender:**
- Male
- Female
- Other

3 meals a day
3. **
- never
-1-2dqys/week
3-4days/week
5-6days
Alwys
4. Regularity of meal time
- very regular
-regular
-regular/irregular
-irregular
-very irregular
TEXT
5. Repast
Always overeating

Sometimes overwating

Overeating or little eating

Sometimes little eating

Always little eating

6.” Favorite food

Indian food

Western food

Chinese food

Fast food

Others

7. Duration of meal
5-10minutes

10-20min

20-30min

More than 30

Others

8.Number of breakfastper week

No

1-2 days

3-4 days

5-6 days
TEXT

9.Breakfast food eaten

- rice
Bread
Cereal
Eating uncooked food
Others
10.Frequency of eating snacks
No
1-2days per week
3-4 days per week
5-6 days per week
Always
11.Frequency of eating after 9
Never
1-2days per week
3-4 days per week
5-6 days per week
Always
12.Eating due to stress solution
Never
No
Sometimes
Frequently
Always
TEXT

Section 4: Health and Lifestyle

14. **How would you rate your overall health?**
- Excellent
- Good
- Fair
- Poor

15. **Do you have any chronic health conditions (e.g., diabetes, hypertension)?**
- Yes
- No

16. **If yes, do you follow a special diet for your condition?**
- Yes
- No
- Not applicable

17. **How often do you exercise?**

- Daily
- Often (3-5 times a week)
- Occasionally (1-2 times a week)
- Rarely
- Never
 TEXT

13.Meat
Never
1-2days per week
3-4 days per week
Everyday
More than or equal to 2 days
14.Kind of meat
Beef
Pork
Chicken
Others
15.Fish
Never
1-2days per week
3-4 days per week
Everyday
More than or equal to 2 days
16.Milk and milkproducts
1-2days per week
3-4 days per week
Everyday
More than or equal to 2 days
17Fat
1-2days per week
 TEXT

18.Kind of fat
Oil

Butter

Mayonnaise

Ghee

19.Vegetables
1-2days per week
3-4 days per week
Everyday
More than or equal to 2 days
THANKYOU