Junk Food Consumption, awareness and its Health Consequences among Undergraduates of a Medical University

• Published in: Journal of the Dow University of Health Sciences Vol. 12; no. 2
• Main Authors: Nighat Mirza, Syed M Jahangir Ashraf, Zia Ikram, Sadia Ikhlaque Sheikh, Manahil Akmal
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dow University of Health Sciences 01-08-2018
• Subjects: awareness; consumption; health consequences; Junk foods; medical undergraduate
• ISSN: 1995-2198; 2410-2180

Objective: To assess the consumption patterns and health consequences of junk foods among students of medical university Karachi, Pakistan. Methods: A study was conducted among 370 students in a Public Sector University, Karachi from March to November 2017. Medical undergraduates, (1-5 academic year), of both gender were conveniently selected. The average age of the medical students was 18 to 24 years, majority were females. Information regarding junk food eating pattern, preference, timings of consumption, influence of nutritional information on the choice of junk food, any history of physical and psychiatric ailments in past six months were collected. A pretested, both open and close ended self-administered questionnaire consisting of 26 questions were used to collect data to assess the knowledge and health consequences regarding junk food consumption.  Results: Out of total 370 participants, 91.4% had the knowledge about the risk and strong connection between weight gain and obesity. Despite of this, 92% participants were consuming junk food. One out of every three students (34.9%) reported hygiene problems, (95%) gastrointestinal issues and (20%) complained about dental problems. A significant association of junk food consumption with feeling drowsiness/lethargic (p-value <0.001) was observed. Moreover, knowledge regarding high risk of non communicable diseases among junk foods users also found significantly higher (p-value 0.045). Conclusion: Current study revealed that, though awareness regarding health hazards of the junk food was found higher among medical students, its consumption is highly prevalent.