Junk Food Consumption Among University Students
The aim of this report is to propose a behaviour change intervention for reducing junk food consumption among the students of the University of Birmingham. This proposed report is to be presented to the principal of the University of Birmingham.
This public research university is located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. The intervention is planned to be implemented on the on-campus local students of the Business Enterprise BA (Hons) course. It can lead to a reduced risk of chronic diseases for these students in the future such as type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, fatty liver and others. The risk of obesity can also be reduced if these students reduce their intake of junk food.
Junk food consumption is one of the biggest reasons behind different chronic diseases. Tanton et al. (2015) mentioned that this kind of food consists of high fat and sodium that causes high blood pressure or hypertension. It has been seen that due to a lack of cooking skills, the age group of 16-24 consumes junk food a lot (Qsrmedia.co.uk, 2017). They spend nearly 63.65 Euros per week on junk food which is more than adults. Young adults spend 19.61 Euros on takeaways as compared with 11.31 Euros on adults (Qsrmedia.co.uk, 2017). The World health organisation (WHO) guidelines recommend a minimum intake of five portions of healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables per day (Cooke & Papadaki, 2014). However, the average consumption of healthy food among university students is only 2.2 to 3.5 portions per day (Alsunni & Badar, 2015). This proves that junk food habits are an essential concern, especially for university students.
Many studies have found that eating habits are directly linked with the health of a person. Anitharaj (2018) mentioned that university students are well-aware of this fact but their knowledge does not correlate with their junk food eating habits. Thus, this proves that they need to be more aware of the harmful impacts of junk food consumption. Khongrangjem et al. (2018) mentioned that people, especially younger adults, get attracted to the delicious taste of junk food. There are different risk factors that are related to this food habit. Nawaz et al. (2020) mentioned that obesity is the main risk factor other than different chronic diseases such as diabetes. In addition, Telleria-Aramburu and Arroyo-Izaga (2022) found that there is a high prevalence of obese students with high body fat, which is due to different factors such as improper sleep habits, and consumption of junk foods and low physical activity.
However, the government of the UK has taken some measures to control this issue. Promotion of food and drinks that contain high fats, salt and sugar are restricted from October 2022 (Gov.uk, 2021). It is essential to design an intervention for controlling the habits of young people, especially university students.
An unhealthy diet is enhancing the risk of health across the globe according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) (Who.int, 2022). It enhances fat and sugar consumption which leads to obesity and other chronic diseases. According to Nawaz et al. (2020), several factors are there that influence university students to eat more junk food than healthy food. For example, their habit of eating while in stress and eating snacks during use of a laptop for study engages them to intake junk food daily. Besides, people of this age group often get addicted to soft cold drinks which contain higher levels of sugar. On the other hand, Madan et al. (2021) have found that university students also tend to eat junk food on their way from home to school or vice versa. Lack of physical activity enhances their risk a bit more as they sit for long hours in the classes of the university.
The Use of the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) to Influence Behaviour Change
There is much evidence of this fact that underpinning theory into the health intervention ensures effective success. According to Vilamala-Orra et al. (2021), the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) is effective to influence people to change their eating habits to remain fit and avoid diseases. It can help to understand the present health behaviour of the target population and trigger them to adopt the diet intervention. de Carvalho et al. (2021) have also supported the use of TTM because of its effective stages which help to understand the preparedness of the target population to quit the unhealthy eating behaviour. Besides, Salehi et al. (2021) have also implemented the stages of TTM for designing diet intervention programs. These stages include Precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and termination.
This intervention will include certain behaviour change techniques such as dramatic relief, self-re-evaluation, self-liberation, environmental control, and environmental re-evaluation. Vilamala-Orra (2021) has integrated a total of 13 sessions of implementing TTM as the dieting intervention program. The result of this study indicated that the food intake behaviour of participants changed after the session. They finally get influenced to adapt to the change in their diet. On the other hand, Boff et al. (2020) have conducted a systematic review and found that TTM is effective in changing health behaviours. Especially, people who are at higher risk of having chronic illnesses due to their current behaviour can be influenced by healthy diet intervention.
The main aim of this 3 months intervention is to decrease the junk food consumption behaviour of university students to improve their overall health. Before implementing the diet intervention programme, it is essential to train the staff effectively to improve their competency to implement the programme effectively.
Eating4health will initiate during the early week of August 2022 by involving the students of on-campus local students of the Business Enterprise BA (Hons) course. The intervention will be based on stages of change according to the transtheoretical model. The intervention programme is divided into 13 sessions [Referred to appendix A].
During the initial stage, the readiness and commitment of the participants to leave junk food habits will be measured. This will be done in the first two weeks and through two sessions. Baseline measures will be taken. The debate will be organised to measure their attitude towards healthy eating. Moreover, different barriers and facilitating elements to change will be measured through the help of questionnaires. In addition, presenting news will be done to them regarding the health impacts of junk food.
In the last two weeks of august, 3 sessions will be involved to motivate the participants for increasing their confidence regarding the ability to bring change. This will be done through self-re-evaluation of the current junk food eating habits through a dietary chart. Moreover, presentations will be conducted to explain the advantages of having fruits and vegetables in daily diet. In addition, presentations will also be conducted regarding different negative impacts of taking high sugar and salts in food. Bodden et al. (2021) mentioned that an attractive presentation helps the target audience to understand the message and helps in motivation.
Behaviour Change Techniques to Reduce Junk Food Consumption
In the first two weeks of September, two sessions will be conducted for working on the knowledge and skills of students regarding a healthy diet. Students will be helped to set short term goals regarding diet change. Setting goals is an essential skill to bring any behavioural change (Latham, 2020). In addition, strategies for eating a healthy diet will be taught to them. Suggestions will be shared by experts regarding a healthy breakfast, which is easier to prepare.
4 sessions will be needed for increasing the self-confidence of participants and increasing autonomy skills. This will start from the 3rd week of September. Cooking workshops will be conducted to improve the skill of students to cook healthy food and avoid junk food. Conducting workshops is necessary for improving the skill of behaviour change program participants (Thomas Craig et al., 2021). Lessons regarding different recipes for various seasons will be provided to the students. Dieticians will help students to create a diet plan.
In the last two sessions re-evaluation will be done to prevent the relapse of the unhealthy eating behaviour. This session will initiate from the 3rd week of October. In these sessions, the self-assessment of current dietary habits is compared with the baseline data. Moreover, group discussions will be organised for sharing experiences and discussing the benefits of the programme in daily life.
An expert highly qualified and experienced dietician will be included in the process of intervention implementation. The role of this dietician will include interaction with the target group to assess their readiness to adopt this intervention, inform the benefits of this intervention through the 13 sessions and advise them to adopt the behaviour. Besides, this dietician will collect and analyse data after the program to evaluate its effectiveness. As the Birmingham City Council is concerned about influencing people to eat healthily, it has collaborated with different partners for improving the food environment of the city (Birmingham.gov.uk, 2022). This program is being led by the Health and Wellbeing Board. Advisors from this board will be included in this diet intervention program.
- Questionnaire: It will be required for TTM stage assessments and process evaluation.
- Presentation: It will be required for informing the participants about the advantages of eating fruits and vegetables instead of junk food and the negative impacts of the intake of high salt and sugar in junk food
- Learning Material: It will be distributed to encourage healthy cooking and healthy eating along with setting healthy eating goals, and creating a healthy diet plan for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Process Evaluation
The process of the program will be evaluated through a short survey of the dietician involved and the participants. This evaluation plan will be implemented at the end of September. The survey questionnaire will include both open and closed questions. Participants and the dietician will be asked to inform which strategies are working well and which are not. Their suggestions will also be collected regarding the potential changes they think are worthy to improve this diet intervention plan.
Outcome Evaluation
The outcome evaluation will be done through the self-reported frequency of eating junk food per week at the baseline and the end of the last session. Besides, the body weight and BMI of the participants at the baseline and end of the program will be compared. This outcome evaluation will help to understand whether the diet intervention program has successfully achieved its aim of the program or not. Boff et al. (2020) have stated that the difference between the baseline data and final data indicated how the program has influenced the participants to change their eating behaviour.
Measurement and Evaluation of the Intervention Program
Impact Evaluation
The impact of Eating4health will be measured after 3 months from the commencement of program implementation through the survey.
The program can be made sustainable by bringing the government close to the university authority. The promotion of junk food needs to be regulated to improve the impact of a program in future (Thomas Craig et al., 2021). Proper ties with the government must be maintained to regulate the operation of fast-food restaurants located in close proximity to the university and the promotion of junk food items. In addition, this program can also be implemented in the coming session next year. During that time, current participants can be involved as they will provide evidence of the success of the program. This can help new students to get motivated effectively by evaluating the outcomes of the current program.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the outcomes of Eating4health can help to reduce the habit of junk food consumption among university students. The program will be conducted with the help of different knowledgeable staff, who have experience working in this field. This program outcome can help to motivate students of other universities effectively as they will learn about healthy diet habits.
Reference list
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