Topic > EATING HABITS AMONG STUDENTS: A CASE STUDY ON STUDENTS...

Eating out is easily accessible as cheap hawker centres, coffee shops, fast food outlets, eateries, restaurants and high-end restaurants are scattered throughout the world Kuala Lumpur. Food of all types and forms are easily available at the doorsteps of its people. Such convenience, combined with an abundance of variety and reasonably priced food, has driven a significant portion of its population to eat out regularly. Ready-to-eat food that requires no preparation and cooking is easily available and consumed by many as a midday meal. Other forms of food, such as instant noodles, that require little cooking are also commonly consumed among young people, especially college students. Depending on the type of job and industry, there are many families in Kuala Lumpur with two working parents, so children in these families often have no one to prepare home-cooked meals. Their children basically need to eat out before going home, especially teenagers studying at university. Several studies have reported relationships between eating behavior with low self-esteem, body image, peer and family relationships (Riedan & Koff, 1997; Budderberg-Fisher et al., 1996; Grant & Fodor, 1988) University/college students encounter pressure not only in having to deal with their studies but also in having to deal with personal, social and family concerns. When afflicted with psychosocial problems, they may succumb to inappropriate eating behavior. Studies conducted in Korea and Japan have reported poor eating habits and inappropriate eating behaviors among high school and college students (Kim, Kang & Kim, 1999; Nakamura et al., 1999). This exploratory study aims to examine eating habits among students in TCHT, and investigate… half of the paper… Mahar, Kathleen L. (1996). Krause's food, nutrition and diet therapy. Philadelphia: WB Saunders. Department of Health. (1998). Food and nutrition guidelines for healthy adolescents. London. Print Publishing: A print-online version of Blackground. Sarah C Couch, Audrey T cross, Kaichi Kida, Emilio Ros, Ignacio Plaza, Steven Shea and Richard Declaum. (2000). Rapid Westernization of children's blood cholesterol in 3 countries. Webner, David. (2003). Medical encyclopedia: fast food. Medline Plus. A service of the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health of the United States: PA Review provided by Verimed Health Care Network.WHO, (1993). Geneva. The health of young people, A challenge and a promise. Worsley, A., Worsley A. J., McConnon, S. (1993). Reported food consumption and eating habits of New Zealand adolescents. J Pedtr. Child's health.