THE STUDY OF THE FAST FOOD CONSUMPTION AND ITS RELATED FACTORS AMONG STUDENTS OF URMIA UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES IN 2017

Background & Aims: Changing lifestyle is one of the achievements of modernity that society, especially the urban community has suffered. One of the factors that indicates a change in lifestyle is a change in nutrition. An example of this is the prevalence of over-consumption of fast food among adolescents and young people. Therefore, this study was designed to study the state of consumption of fast food and its related factors among Urmia medical students. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional (descriptive-analytic) study was conducted on 299 students of Urmia University of Medical Sciences. Samples from university colleges were selected by stratified random sampling and were included in the study. To collect the data, a valid and reliable three-part questionnaire including socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge and attitude was used. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (independent t-test, Chi-square, one-way ANOVA, correlation and multiple linear regression) in SPSS-16 software. Results: The findings showed that the mean age in the whole was 22.10 ± 4.30 (22.86 ± 4.47 in female and 21.84 ± 2.50 in the female group). On average, the consumption of fast foods was 2.7 times per month in students and this consumption was higher in boys than in girls (2.97 ± 4.8 in males and 2.58 ± 3.61 in females). The mean score of knowledge and attitude toward fast food consumption among students was 17.71 ± 3.80 and 190.30 ± 43.54, respectively. Based on the results of the study, knowledge, attitude and ethnicity of students in both univariate and regression analyzes were recognized as factors related to fast food consumption and these relationships were statistically significant (p <0.05). Conclusion: This study revealed that students' knowledge and attitudes play an effective role in the adoption and non-adoption of the behavior of their fast food consumption. The design and implementation of nutrition education programs is recommended for students to raise knowledge and improve the attitude and beliefs about the use of fast food.