Knowledge Level Regarding Junk Food Consumption Among School Children in Dharwad District, Karnataka

Abstract

Junk foods have gained rapid popularity as they are easily available, ready to eat or served ready to eat as fast foods. Additives used in junk food make them more appealing and palatable which in-turn encourages consumption. Junk foods are known to cause adverse health effects like obesity, hyperglycemia, hypertension, dyslipidemia etc., yet it is widely consumed especially among the adolescents. A study was undertaken with the objective to assess the knowledge level regarding junk food consumption among school children in Dharwad district. Schools selected were Narendra School in rural area and Krishinagar school in urban area. Random sampling technique was employed for selection of the samples. A total of 120 students (60 each school) studying in class 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th were selected. Each subject was asked to fill the questionnaire. Subjects belonged to age group of 13 – 16 years. Family occupation among most of the subjects was agriculture and the family income was less than Rs. 1 lakh per annum. Breakfast was consumed at home and lunch was provided at school under mid-day meal scheme. Food outlets available nearby were petty shops, canteen, bakery, grocery stores and hotels. Majority of subjects 36 (60.00%) from Narendra and 46 (76.67%) Krishinagar were knowing about junk foods but knowledge regarding various ingredients, preservatives and chemicals used in preparation of junk foods and their adverse health effects was limited. Junk food consumption among most of the subjects was on monthly basis that is 21 (35.00%) from Narendra and 17 (28.33%) from Krishinagar. Commonly consumed junk food were deep fried items like chips, namkeens, sweets and other items like toffees, candies and coloured ice candies. Hence there is a need create awareness and impart knowledge regarding junk food and its effect on health among school children. KEY WORDS: Junk foods, fast foods, preservatives, chemicals, health.

Knowledge, practices and influencing factors defining unhealthy food behavior among adolescents in India: a scoping review

“…Fifteen studies (45.45%) covered the status of knowledge concerning the effects of unhealthy food among adolescents; effects include causing over-weight, obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol, intestinal cancer, cardiovascular disease, dental caries, etc. due to consumption of unhealthy food ( Sharma, 2013 ; Joseph et al, 2015 ; Ramchandra et al, 2015 ; Sharma and Pokhrel, 2016 ; Bhushan et al, 2017 ; Vikrama and Nitha, 2017 ; Khongrangjem et al, 2018 ; Naveenkumar and Parameshwari, 2019 ; Shanthi et al, 2019 ; Yadav and Kaur, 2019 ; Borgis et al, 2020 ; Lalnunthara and Kumar, 2020 ; Nayak, 2020 ; Ayushree and Tarai, 2021 ; Shanthini and Hubballi, 2021 ). One study reported the health consciousness of adolescents while eating unhealthy food ( Lalnunthara and Kumar, 2020 ).…”

“…Six studies (18.18%) evaluated the status of knowledge regarding the aspects of unhealthy food containing high sugar and salt, increasing calories, lacking nutritionalw value, rising cholesterol levels, causing weight gain, and containing harmful colors, chemicals, high in saturated fat, repetition of the same frying oil, food preservatives, etc. along with the knowledge regarding the consequences of consuming that ( Kotecha et al, 2013 ; Sharma and Pokhrel, 2016 ; Amin et al, 2017 ; Vikrama and Nitha, 2017 ; Veena et al, 2018 ; Borgis et al, 2020 ; Ayushree and Tarai, 2021 ). In two studies, the participating adolescents opined that unhealthy food causes ill effects on the human body ( Joseph et al, 2015 ; Vikrama and Nitha, 2017 ).…”

“…Twenty-one (63.63%) articles of the study reported on the variety of unhealthy food consumed by adolescents; Chocolate, packaged food, bakery food, fried food, Italian food, Chinese food, and carbonated drinks are the most preferred food among adolescents ( Raghunatha Rao et al, 2007 ; Mahajan et al, 2012 ; Goel et al, 2013 ; Kotecha et al, 2013 ; Meena and Varma, 2014 ; Joseph et al, 2015 ; Punitha et al, 2015 ; Oinam et al, 2016 ; Sharma and Pokhrel, 2016 ; Varma and Chaturvedi, 2016 ; Amin et al, 2017 ; Bhushan et al, 2017 ; Gupta et al, 2018 ; Khongrangjem et al, 2018 ; Veena et al, 2018 ; Agarwal et al, 2019 ; Naveenkumar and Parameshwari, 2019 ; Borgis et al, 2020 ; Nayak, 2020 ; Sukhwal et al, 2020 ; Ayushree and Tarai, 2021 ; Fathima and Moni Meghana, 2021 ). Two studies reported frequent consumption of locally made unhealthy food or food with low nutrients and high saturated fats like Aloo Tikki, bhelpuri, samosa, chole kulcha, chole bhatura, Bikaneri bhujia, Gol Gappa among adolescents of semi-urban areas ( Mahajan et al, 2012 ; Sukhwal et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Eighteen studies (54.54%) reported the frequency of unhealthy food consumption habits observed daily to occasional. ( Raghunatha Rao et al, 2007 ; Mahajan et al, 2012 ; Goel et al, 2013 ; Kotecha et al, 2013 ; Joseph et al, 2015 ; Punitha et al, 2015 ; Haokip and Sonika, 2016 ; Varma and Chaturvedi, 2016 ; Amin et al, 2017 ; Bhushan et al, 2017 ; Kuila et al, 2017 ; Khongrangjem et al, 2018 ; Veena et al, 2018 ; Agarwal et al, 2019 ; Naveenkumar and Parameshwari, 2019 ; Borgis et al, 2020 ; Chandar et al, 2020 ; Ayushree and Tarai, 2021 ). Out of these studies, two studies explored the study setup and defined the frequency of food consumption, where they found out that the frequency of unhealthy food consumption was high among urban adolescents ( Mahajan et al, 2012 ; Sukhwal et al, 2020 ).…”