Topic > Bad eating habits of university students: causes, effects and prospects

Bad eating habits are a public health problem. Food preferences are generally established in the first few days of life, however people become more independent in choosing foods as they age. Food selection is a phenomenon in which a person decides whether the food intake he or she will eat will be beneficial or harmful. A bad eating habit could highlight choosing bad food or other variables related to food intake such as timing. Eating habits are driven by some factors that include pleasure, taste, nutrition or convenience; where everyone could end up changing the habit of being poor or healthy. (Deshpande, Basil, & Basil, 2009) This article aims to clarify the causes, effects, and suggested solutions of poor eating habits among college students. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Rachon and Kuzbicka (2013) stated that poor eating habits are a problem that many college students face. The reasons behind these problems vary from one student to another, however there are some common reasons that have a high percentage of sympathy. The first cause of this terrible habit is lack of time. This unavailable time has caused the amount of assignments and projects due to increase, as well as time spent on social needs; it creates an imbalance in the food intake equation. One way that lack of time causes poor eating habits is by not allowing the student to eat breakfast. This is very improper behavior when it comes to eating as the student throws away many benefits that come with breakfast. Due to the very short amount of time available to relax, college students tend to combine their recreational activities with other activities. This happens when students eat in front of the television to save time. This increases the amount of junk food and soft drinks the person consumes; which is a bad habit. Another cause behind the phenomenon of bad eating is the stress that college students face. People have a tendency to eat when stress increases, to somehow relive this stress. This bad habit is unfortunately common among many college students. The problem lies in the fact that the food chosen to eat is usually takeaway food or fast food which harms the body. When college students are stressed they want the fastest satisfying food available, so junk food fits this criteria perfectly. Devouring a chocolate cake is how the media, which may be a driving force in choosing unhealthy foods, propels a person towards stress relief. Plus, the time and energy it takes to go buy healthy snacks or even cook isn't in the schedule of a busy college student. This is why most students turn to fast food when it comes to releasing stress. (Ganasegeran, et al, 2012) In all problems there are two aspects, one is the causes and the other is the effects. Causes are the reason behind the temptation to get involved in the problem. On the other hand, the consequences that occur after the habit has been adapted, whether short-term or long-term, are the effect. The first effect, or consequence, that results from bad eating habits is obesity. This is the most famous and common effect that people who have bad habits face.