Eating Habits of Students Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Eating Habits of Students - Essay Example The importance of a healthy lifestyle is inevitable. A good and healthy lifestyle starts with the diet one takes (Bailey, 2007 ). A blend of calorie intake together with fruit and vegetable consumption, as part of the diet, is advisable in ensuring a balanced diet. It helps prevent lifestyle-related disorders and diseases (MacClanccy, Henry, & Macbeth, 2009). Strict dietary guidelines help maintain a healthy diet and avoid the big gap in dietary divide experienced today by many people. The prevalent short lifespan emanates from the wrong choice of diet that end up affecting our health (Shepherd & Raats 2006). The young generation seems to pay little attention to the crucial topic of diet and health. Their choice of diet remains a secondary consideration in their responsibility for their health (Gullotta, Adams & Ramos 2005). Dietary disorders among young people are on the rise at an alarming rate. Instances of obesity in young people are increasing more than ever experienced. Accordi ng to Richards, 2007, guiding the young generation on issues of diet and health become essential. Topics such as the choice of food, awareness of a well balanced diet and the need to create attention to nutrition among by young people need further elaboration. Teaching the youth about diet and health, therefore, is indispensable an issue most governments must consider engaging (Berg 2002). Statistics in the United Kingdom show that several schools going students have poor knowledge of diet and health (McGinnis & Gootman 2006). Several students express low attention to nutrition. The choice of a better diet by students is poorly in several students (Glass 2009). In what areas many students pay less attention to, as far as diet and health are concerned, this report sorts to find out. The report discusses the important dietary areas overlooked by students and their extent of caution to their health. 2. Method In order to find out the eating habits of students, a survey was conducted wi th the help of an oral questionnaire. Total 30 randomly selected students in the UK took the interview in different learning institutions for the purpose of representing the student population. The group of respondents composed of students from different learning institutions at different stages of studies. The respondents consisted of fifteen boys and fifteen girls. The questionnaire (attached in the appendix) consists of different kinds of questions which chiefly build upon each other. The question types used is, for example, â€Å"yes/no†, multiple choice and ranking questions. In addition, some questions require the respondents stating their own opinion or telling more about their own experiences. While the questionnaire is not plainly segmented, it focuses on one major topic of health and diet. The questionnaire consists of seventeen (17) questions. The first question asks about the respondent’s gender. The second question asks about the frequency of meals taken b y students per day. The number of meals ranges from one (1) to four (4) per day. The third asks the opinion of the responder, whether he or she gets a balanced diet. It offers five options of response to the question. The fourth question inquires the respondent’s knowledge of a balanced diet. The fifth question asks the respondent about his or her preferred meal.