Junk Food Consumption and Its Association with Body Mass Index Among School Adolescents

Abstract

Healthy and nutritious food are being replaced by new commercial food items called Junk Food. These food item are with high calories but with low nutritive values. Excess consumption of junk food is associated with several nutritional problems ranging from underweight to obesity and various Non-communicable diseases. The study was conducted to assess the general junk food consumption habits, pattern and its association with Body Mass Index among adolescents. A descriptive cross sectional design was adopted to collect data among 311 adolescents studying in grade 8 & 9 of selected private school at, Parsa, Nepal using a pretested structured self-administered questionnaire. The obtained data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS 16 version. The result of the study revealed that age range of adolescents was 12-17 years. 37% of the adolescents were in the age group of 15 years. The BMI value was 18.81±2.35 whereas majority 50.5% of the adolescents was having BMI less than normal and were considered underweight. The time of junk food consumption is significantly associated with BMI with (p value 0.02) and amount of money spend on junk food is also associated with BMI with (p value 0.006). Junk food consumption is significantly associated with low BMI among adolescents. Only a limited numbers of adolescents have understood that excess consumption of junk food has negative effects on general health. This study may contribute to provide awareness regarding the consequences of junk food consumption along with setting limits over junk food by parents and teachers to promote healthy dietary habits among adolescents.

Factors Associated With Body Mass Index in Children – A Community-Based Study

“…Junk food consumption is significantly associated with malnutrition or low BMI among adolescents [18]. This result is consistent with the findings of the present study, in which children who ate junk food are at increased risk of having low BMI.…”

The socio-ecological model as a framework for understanding junk food consumption among schoolchildren in Nepal

“…The Nepali population's dietary patterns have also changed over the past 40 years (Subedi et al, 2017). As elsewhere, junk food consumption has become commonplace among schoolchildren in Nepal (Neupane, 2014;Poudel, 2018;Poudel et al, 2018;Sapkota and Neupane, 2017). Junk food may be attractive to schoolchildren because it provides quick energy, tastes good, is easily accessible, is portable, and saves parents' time to prepare (Arya and Mishra, 2013;Kotecha et al, 2013;Vaida, 2013).…”

Junk Food Consumption and its Association with Anthropometric Indices among undergraduates in Nigeria

“…Numerous studies have implicated consumption of junk foods as substitutes to nutritious healthy diets as causes of overweight and obesity [25,26]. Overweight and obesity are risk factors for many diseases and the increase in its incidence among the young adults' population is worrisome [24,33]. In Nigeria, junk food is commonly consumed among students because of its availability and accessibility.…”

“…Studies have shown that availability and accessibility of junk food at various points in the country especially at educational institutions has significantly increased over the years [24,25]. This has led to the increase in the number of students adopting the consumption of unhealthy junk food instead of nutritious healthy diets [24,26].…”

“…Studies have shown that availability and accessibility of junk food at various points in the country especially at educational institutions has significantly increased over the years [24,25]. This has led to the increase in the number of students adopting the consumption of unhealthy junk food instead of nutritious healthy diets [24,26]. Since studies have revealed that the consumption of junk food causes obesity, which is a primary cause of cardiovascular diseases and other life-threatening diseases [27], there is need for increased research on available junk foods within our institutions of higher learning.…”