Gediminas Merkys, Andrius Norkus, Julius Dovydaitis
Abstract
The article presents the survey about eating habits of Lithuanian students (N = 990) and its results. The aim of the research was to try to at least partially answer the essential problem question: why is there a contradiction between the awareness and knowledge about healthy eating and the actual behavior. Everybody possess knowledge about the healthy diet, but a large percentage of people, including students, ignore recommendations about healthy eating. In order to measure eating habits there were used 21 primary indicators. While matching factorial and logical validation there were formed 7 subscales with appropriate psychometric quality. While using K-mean cluster analysis there were identified three statistical types of students with the expression of different eating habits. They are as follows: 1. “Focusing on a healthy diet” (prevalence – 30.7 percent.). 2. “Interim group tending towards an unhealthy diet” (33.8 percent.). 3. “Cost-oriented, eating unhealthy meals” (35.5 percent.). Statistical type of character, oriented to a healthy diet, does not reach even one-third of the relative prevalence of the target population. The highest rate is reached by economically motivated unhealthy diet statistical type. It turned out that the students belonging to one or another type of diet is affected by: 1) sex; 2) social layer; 3) The student‘s father or mother had analogous habits, and 4) getting informed about healthy eating through the media. Students’ age and the level of their parents’ education do not effect eating habits of the students.
Keyword(s): eating habits; healthy eating; students.
DOI: 10.5200/sm-hs.2016.084
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