Research on the eating habits of I.T Carlow Students March 2012

The topic I chose for my survey was student eating habits.  I wanted to learn the reasons behind why students chose the foods they eat. I first gave the survey to five people in my class to sample and make any necessary changes.  Once I made the changes I then conducted the survey on Thursday March 1^st 2012 between the hours of 9am to 9.40 am.  I asked a total of ten questions made up of multi-choice, dichontanous and linkert scale.  A total of 20 people took part in the survey which was made up of 13(65%) female and 7(35%) male. I interviewed students from the school/departments of Business and Humanities, Science, and Engineering. The students who took part in the survey varied in age, and were all at different stages of their studies.

Canteen Food

I asked the question do you eat canteen food?  Only one person out of the 20 surveyed said no and that was a 1^st year female student who came from the school of Engineering. Therefore I believe it could be argued that the majourity of students surveyed had a positive attitude towards the food served in the canteen. The point should also be made that attitudes are related to ones personality.  It was interesting how the male engineering students  all said they all eat in the canteen.  This shows the contrasts that can happen in a school/department.  I also asked students how strongly they felt about the statement “the canteen provides good healthy food”.  It was interesting how the females surveyed were divided as 46% agreed a further 46% disagreed while the remaining  7.69% strongly disagreed.  This was in total contrast with the males surveyed as 99%agreed with the statement while 1% didn’t know.  It was interesting how out of the twenty people surveyed no one strongly agreed with the statement.  

Price of food

I thought it would be appropriate to ask the question “would price prevent you from eating in the college” due to the current economic circumstances we know find ourselves in at present. When comparing the results of the male and female groups, I could see huge differences as 38% of females said yes while a further 61.5% said no, the price wouldn’t deter them from eating canteen food.  While the majority of males said no.  Despite the fact the majority of people surveyed said the price wouldn’t prevent them from eating in the college, there is still people who take price into consideration before deciding where to eat.

Important meal times

Eating three meals a day is hugely important if you are to maintain a balanced diet.  In the survey I asked the question “what do you think is the most important meal of the day?  It was fascinating how the majority of women believed breakfast was the most important meal of the day.  It was also interesting how three out of seven males interviewed believed dinner was the most important meal of the day, while the remaining four believed breakfast  was the most important.  It is also worth mentioning that three out of five male engineering students believed breakfast was the most important meal of the day. It is clear from these results that breakfast is rated as the most important meal of the day among students.

Variety of food

During the course of my research I asked the 20 students surveyed “Do you think there is a good variety of food in the college”.  The majority (69.2%) of females surveyed disagreed, while 71.4% of males surveyed agreed.  It was interesting how out of the 30.76%  females who believed there is a good variety of food in the college all came from the 18-25 age groups.  The 28.5% of males who said no, where all 1^st years came from the 18-25 age groups and where studying a course in the school of engineering.  It is clear from my research that the majority of students surveyed believed there is not a good variety of food in the college.  

College workload

It is becoming increasingly difficult not only has to keep up with  the academic requirements that are a major part of college life but also maintain a balanced diet.  I thought it would be appropriate to ask the question.  “Has your college workload disrupted your diet”.  The majority of males surveyed said yes while only half of the females surveyed agreed their college workload disrupted their diet. This result has brought me to the conclusion that men are now becoming conscious of their diet. It is worth highlighting how much of an impact if any did the advertising campaigns highlighting high cholesterol and healthy eating had on the males who took part in this survey. 

 Conclusion

It was unfortunate that no 4^th year student took part in the survey; one explanation for this could be class on Thursday mornings. It is also worth mentioning that no one over the age of 40 took part in the survey, this probably had an impact on the overall result.  As a result of compiling this research, I not only gained an insight into student behaviour but also the eating habits of the students of I.T Carlow.