Level of Awareness on the Health Consideration, Study Habits, Social Interaction and Mindset Focus Among Meal-Skipper College Students: Basis for School Program Intervention

Abstract

Background: Food intake is a prerequisite for your energy and nutrients consumption throughout the entire day. College students often skip meals due to their busy activities inside the campus. Class and work schedules change daily as well as every semester and problem in time management has been prevalence to these students. Social learning theory emphasizes the impact that observing other people has on our own attitudes and behavior towards food. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate college students eating behavior are actually the results of observing actions of the adolescence group in terms of their level of awareness on the health consideration, study habits, social interaction and mindset focus among meal-skipper college students.

Method: The researchers sought 500 students out of 2100 students population of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Quezon City Branch and the use of convenience sampling as one of the main type of non-probability sampling methods was adopted.

Result: The over-all prevalence of college students who admitted that they are skipping meals is at 53.40%. The main reason of skipping meals during breakfast is getting up late; during lunch is due to tied up school works (researches, report, project and quizzes); during dinner is due to going home late from school. College students answered with a general mean of 3.65 or “Very Aware” on the danger and effects of skipping meals in terms of its health consideration, study habits, social interaction and mindset focus.

Conclusion: Despite the high level of awareness of college students on the danger of skipping meals more than half of the respondents admitted that they are skipping meals whether during breakfast, lunch or dinner. The school administration can introduce several program intervention such as free meal, seminars, lowering the cost of meal being sold in the canteen and class rescheduling.

Keywords: meal skippers, health, social, study habit, mindset