Fast Food Consumption Pattern among University Hostel Girls

INTRODUCTION

Fast food culture is becoming very popular these days especially among young people. The low price, easy availability, taste and attractive advertisement and special offers makes them poular among young people. Fast-food industry in India is increasing rapidly at the rate of 40% every year. India ranks 10th in the fast food per capita spending (Ashakiran, 2012). The current world‟s adaptation to a system of consumption of fast foods has resulted in several adverse effects on health. The energy density in fast foods is very high and it accounts more than twice the recommended daily allowance for children (Printice, 2003 World Health Organization has defined adolescence as a period between 10-19 years (Bashour 2004 )The current population of adolescents in India is 253.2 million, which comprises of 21 % of worlds total population (Chin and Mohammad 2009). Adolescence is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood in which physical, psychological and behavioral changes take place. These rapid changes in young children demands high quality diet for development of physical growth. But due to poor eating habits these demands are often not met and it puts them under nutritionally vulnerable group. (Chandramouli .2013) Many college students fall under the adolescent age group and shows some common unhealthy eating habits like meal skipping, eating out, and fast food consumption etc. (Galore et al.1993). Due to increased urbanization and increased income, there has been a drastic change in the eating pattern of college students in India. When students experience college life they are exposed to lack of time and stress which leads to poor eating habits among them. ( Ganasegeran et al. 2013). They adopt unhealthy dietary practices due to easy availability of fast food and also they are quite affordable( Story et al.2002 ). Eating habits picked up during adolescent may continue in adult life as well and theses dietary patterns may contribute to many non communicable disease later in life like obesity and eating disorders (Moy et al.2009. Good taste, affordability, convenience and advertisements have played major role in incresing sales of fast foods among adolescents. (Fister, 2005).

Junk food is referred to an empty calorie food, which has high calories but it lacks in micronutrients like fiber, vitamins and minerals but it has high energy. This foods also contains ingredients which are considered unhealthy if eaten on a regular basis. Apart from great taste, easy availability, and attractive presentation of the food are the appealing nature of these foods. Advertisement plays an important role in promoting

In the view of the above facts, the present study was conducted to find out eating habits of fast foods among adolescent girls living in hostel.

METHODS OF STUDY:

The study was conducted out in the Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak , Haryana. 50 girl students aged 16-19 residing in Maharshi Dayanand University Hostel were selected who were willing to participate in the study. For the collection of data questionnaire method was used. The tool was formulated to find out the consumption pattern of fast foods, soft drinks and snacks of adolescents. In all fifty girls responded and they became our respondents.

In recent times the eating habits of college students has changed rapidly. The change in the consumption pattern in the recent years has created a high demand for food products in processed and preserved form to suit the changing life style. Eating out has evolved from an occasional thing to a regular outing with friends and fast-food has became a significant symbol as it tries to satisfy the customer in a short time. The fast food industry has been growing at fast speed in India. Adolescents and young adults are more open to new concepts and ideas, they are more curious and interested in trying something new every time. Today they are consuming more beverages and grain-based snack foods and combination foods, such as pizzas, pasta ,noodles and burgers. Soft drinks consumption had a dramatic increase among all groups, especially among the adolescents.

Table 1 shows money received per month from their homes. Most of the students i.e. 42% were receiving money Rs. 3000-4000 from their homes. Moreover 26% students were receiving about Rs. 4000-5000 money from their homes. Around 16 % of the students were receiving only Rs. 2000-3000. And 16% students were receiving more than Rs. 5000 per month. Table 2 shows how much money the girls are spending on fast food. It shows that 38% respondents spends Rs. 800-1000 money per month on fast food. Around 24% girl students spend Rs.200-500 money per month on food/snacks.14% girls spend Rs.1000 -2000 money every month on fast food. 12% spend between 501-800 on fast food per month . 10% girls spent 200 or less on fast food and only 2% spend Rs 2000 or more money per month on fast food and snacks. In a similar study conducted in Karachi, Pakistan shows that majority of respondents (38%)spend Rs 1000-2000 per month on fast food (Shami and Fatima 2017). This is higher than our study which shows majority of girls (38%) spent between 801-1000 and 14% spend between 1001-2000.

Table 3 shows that 30 % respondent skip their breakfast once a week and 26% respondent skip their breakfast 3-4 days in a week. 22% skip their breakfast 1-2 days in a week 16% respondent said they never skip their breakfast and 6% respondent said they skip their breakfast every day. Skipping breakfast often leads to increased consumption of outside food which has low nutritional value. Breakfast is a very important meal of the day and adolescents should be educated to not skip it. 62% respondent said they never skip their lunch and 22% said they skip lunch only once in a week. 8% respondent skip their lunch every day and 6% skip their lunch 3-4 days in a week. 2% respondent skip their lunch 1-2 days in a week. 40% respondent said they never skip their dinner and 38% respondent said they skip their dinner only Study done by Bipasha and Goon in bangladesh shows 47% students had two meals per day and half of the students skipped their breakfast. This result is much higher than our result which shows that only 6% students skip their breakfast everyday, 2% skip their lunch every day.

Table 4 shows that 34% respondent eat twice in a week in hostel canteen. 28% respondent eat 3-4 times a week and 22% respondent eat in hostel canteen every day. 12% respondent eat once in week in hostel canteen and 4% respondent eat only once in a month in hostel canteen. In an another study of Bangladesh students 22% of the respondents consumed fast food for 4 days per week where 21.3 % reported to eat fast food for everyday (Goon 2013) .

Many of them have different reasons for eating snacks. Tastes and interest of the individual is totally different from others. Table 5 shows that 34 % respondents eat fast food as a snack when they feel hungry. About 32% eat it for taste and 28% % eat it for enjoyment and 6% respondents eat fast food to celebrate an occasion. The respondents said at the evening time they feel hungry and they wish to eat something so they eat whatever is available in the hostel canteen. Some of them said they would love to eat healthy snacks if it is available in the canteen. won‟t decline the offer” (Female student , 19 years old).

Table 6 shows that the consumption of cold drink is very high among respondent 50% respondent prefer cold drink as beverages. 16% respondent prefer coffee and 14% prefer tea. about 12% respondent prefer milk and 3% prefer milkshake. Cold drinks are very popular among students as they give them instant energy and goes very well with the fast food items like chips, burger, pizza etc. In a similar study conducted in Bangladesh almost 96% students reported to drink soft drinks while eating fast food (Bipasha and Goon, 2013)

Table 7 shows that 74% respondent eat chips from hostel canteen. 48% prefer ice cream and 40% respondent eat sandwich in hostel canteen, about 34% prefer patties 32% prefer burger. 22% respondents eat biscuit and 13% respondents prefer chowmin in hostel canteen. Seo et al.(2011) in his study found that comparatively fried chicken and hamburgers were consumed more frequently than , pizza, doughnuts or French fries.

Table 8 shows that 50% of respondent celebrate birthday party or any other occasional party once in a month. 32% respondent celebrate parties 2-3 times in a month and 12% celebrate a party once in two months. 6% respondent celebrate parties more than three times in a month.

Table 9 shows that 70% respondent eat pizza in a birthday party and 60% respondent eat burger in a party, 48% eat ice-cream and 26% eat sandwiches, 24% prefer to eat chips 22% respondent eat Maggie and another 16% eat pasta in a party. This result is similar to the results of another study conducted in Pakistan which also shows pizza as the most preferred fast-food(Yardimci .et al. 2012). In an another study carried out in Saudi Arabia shows burger as the most popular fast food item among young adults. (Faris, et al, 2015).

only 10% said they eat their meals after a party. Therefore, consumption of fast food also leads to the meal skipping among adolescents.

On the whole, the data analyzed showed the snacks and soft drinks was now an inseparable component in the dietary pattern of adolescent girls. Many of them eat it as a part of their daily snacking specially at the evening time. India is the youngest country in the World right now. Thus it should focus on the health of its young generation. The young adults should made educated about making healthy food choices and they should also be taught about the harmful effects of fast food. The girls in reproductive age needs special nutrition and lack of these nutrition may lead to anemia in them. Thus making healthy food choices and how to take care of one's nutritional requirement should be part of their school and college curriculum. The studied of this type will in understanding of eating pattern and behavior of college going students and also in understanding the need of health education of young people. After understanding the dietary pattern of college students I suggest that nutritional education should be made compulsory for all college going students. And it the responsibility of government to eliminate or limit the fast food vendors near schools and colleges and offer healthy and nutritional food choices to children and teenagers. They should also limit the attractive advertisement of fast food especially targeted at the young children.

1. Ashakiran Deepthi R. (2012). “Fast foods and their impact on health" Journal of Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences University, pp. 17-15. 2. Printice A.M. and Jebb S.A. (2003) "Fast foods, energy density and obesity: a possible mechanistic link" Obesity Reviews Vol.4, pp. 187-94. 3. Shetty, P. (2002). Nutrition Transition in India. Public Health Nutrition, 5(1A), pp. 175-182 4. Bashour H.N. (2004). “Survey of dietary habits of in-school adolescents in Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic" Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal 2004, 10(6): pp. 853–862. Nutr 2009, 8(4): pp. 425–432. 6. Chandramouli C. (2013). Census of India 2013, Social and Cultural Tables-Age, Accesse from http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011 Documents/Census_2011_Age_data-final-12-09- 2013.ppt 7. Galore S.R., Walker C., Chandler A. (1993). Brief Communication: Dietary habits of first year medical students as determined by computer software analysis of three- day food records" J Am Coll Nutr 1993, 12: pp. 517– 520 8. Ganasegeran K. Sami AR Al-Dubai, Qureshi A.M., Al-abed A.A. Al-abed, Rizal A.M. and Aljunid S.M. (2013). “Social and psychological factors affecting eating habits among university students in a Malaysian medical school: a cross-sectional study” Nutrition Journal 2013; 11 (48). 9. Story M. Neumark-Sztainer D. French S. (2002). “Individual and Environmental Influences on Adolescent Eating Behaviors” Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2002; Volume 102 (3): pp. 40–51. 10. Moy F.M. Johari S. Ismail Y., Mahad R. Tie FH.Wan Ismail W.M.A. (2009). "Breakfast Skipping and Its Associated Factors among Undergraduates in a Public University in Kuala Lumpur" Malays J Nutr.2009 Sep; pp. 165-74 11. Ludwig, D.S., Peterson, K.E. and Gortmaker, S.L. (2001). "Relation between consumption of sugar sweetened drink and childhood obesity; a prospective observational analysis" Lancet 357: pp. 505-508 12. Fister, K. (2005). “Junk food advertising contributes to young American‟s obesity” BMJ 331: pp. 1426. 13. Young, L.R. and Nestle, M. (2002). “The contribution of expanding portion sizes to the US obesity epidemic” Am J Public Health 92: pp. 246-249 14. Fitzpatrick M. (2004). “Junk Food” Lancet 2004, 363: pp. 1000 15. Perira M.A. and Karatashov A.L. (2005). “Fast food, weight gain, insulin resistance” Lancet 365(9453) pp. 36- 42 17. Shami Y. & Fahima F. (2017). "Trend of Fast Food Consumption Among College Girls" International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 8, Issue 2, February-2017 18. Prabhavathi, Y., Kishore, Krishna N. T, Kumar, Ramesh. M. (2014). Consumer Preference and Spending Pattern in Indian Fast Food industry. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 2014, Volume 4 19. BipashaMS. Goon S. (2013). “Fast food preferences and food habits among students of private universities in Bangladesh" South East Asia Journal Of Public Health 2013;3(1): pp. 61-64. © 2013 20. Ruxton C.H.S. and Kirk T.R. (1997). “Breakfast: a review of associations with measures of dietary intake, physiology and biochemistry" British Journal of Nutrition 78(2) pp. 199-214. 21. Sjöberg A.H., Höglund L. and Hulthén D.L. (2003). "Meal pattern, food choice, nutrient intake and lifestyle factors in The Göteborg Adolescence Study" European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 57(12) pp. 1569-78. 22. Choi N.J. (2003). A Report on Nutrient Content and Consumption Patterns of Fast Food. Seoul: Korea Consumer Agency; 2003. pp. 13–27. 23. Kim NS, Kim SA.(1995) Comparative assessment of lipid composition by food table and chemical analysis in fast-foods Chungnam J Hum Ecol. 1995;8: pp. 28–39. 24. Pereira M.A., Kartashov A.I., Ebbeling C.B., Van Horn L., Slattery M.L., Jacobs D.R., Jr, Ludwig D.S. (2005). Fast-food habits, weight gain, and insulin resistance (the CARDIA study): 15-year prospective analysis. Lancet. 2005;365: pp. 36–42. 25. Isganaitis E, Lustig RH.(2005) Fast food, central nervous system insulin resistance, and obesity Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2005;25: pp. 2451–2462. 26. Seo H.S., Lee S.K., Nam S. (2011). Factors influencing fast food consumption behaviors of middle-school students in Seoul: an application of theory of planned

27. Schmidt M., Affenito S.G., Striegel-Moore R., Khoury P.R., Barton B., Crawford P., et. al. (2005). Fast-food intake and diet quality in black and white girls: the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth and Health Study Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005;159(7): pp. 626–31. 28. Islam N. Ullah G.M. (2016). Factors Affecting Consumers‟ Preferences on Fast Food Items in Bangladesh the Journal of Applied Business Research – July/August 2010 Volume 26, Number 4, p. 131 29. Haines C. Neil C. Zanove M. (2010). Fast-food consumption among college students and their attitudes toward healthier fast-food options Federation Of American Societies For Experimental Biology April 2010 lvol. p. 24. 30. Seo et al. (2011). Factors influencing fast food consumption behaviors of middle-school students in Seoul: an application of theory of planned behaviors Nutr res Pract.2011Apr;5(2): pp. 169-178 31. AlFaris, A. N., Al-Tamimi, Z. J., AlJobair, O. M., Al-Shwaiyat, M. N. (2015). “Trends of fast food consumption among adolescent and young adult Saudi girls living in Riyadh". Food & Nutrition Research, 2015, 59: pp. 26488 32. Yardimci, H., Ozdogan, Y., Ozcelik, A.O. & Surucuoglu, M.S. (2012). "Fast-Food Consumption Habits of University Students: The Sample of Ankara, Pakistan" Journal of Nutrition 11 (3): pp. 265-269 33. Sakamaki R., Toyama K., Amamoto R., Liu C.J., Shinfuku N. (2005). Nutritional knowledge, food habits and health attitude of Chinese university students: a cross sectional study. Nutr J 2005, 4(4) 34. Tanaka M., Mizuno K., Fukuda S., Shigihara Y., Watanabe Y. (2008). Relationships between dietary habits and the prevalence of fatigue in medical students. Nutrition 2008, 24: pp. 985–989. 35. Sim K.H. (1992). “Nutritional status and opinions about fast food among Korean youth. Daejon: Chungnam” National University; 1992. [master's thesis] 36. Ahn M.S., Chung H.K., Kim A.J., Shin S.M., Han K.S., Woo N.R.Y., Kim H.J. 37. Paeratakul S., Ferdinand D.P., Champagne C.M., Ryan D.H., Bray G.A. (2003). “Fast-food consumption among US adults and children: Dietary and nutrient intake profile" J Am Diet Assoc. 2003;103: pp. 1332–1338. 38. Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affaires; Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. The Third Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. Seoul: Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2008. pp. 126–147.

Research Scholar, Department of Sociology, M.D.U Rohtak, Haryana