Determinants and health outcomes of fast food consumption: The case of university students in Metro Manila

ABSTRACT University students are seen in recent studies to have frequently consumed various kinds of fast food. Fast food can be in the form of quick-service restaurant foods, street food, and convenience food. This study uses a descriptive-quantitative research design that determines the fast food consumption practices among university students in Metro Manila, its determinants affecting its consumption, and the quality of life of the respondents as an outcome. The study further examines the association between fast-food consumption and the quality of life among university students as well as the influence of perceived control behavior towards fast food consumption on the quality of life of the respondents. The data was gathered through a self-administered online questionnaire. 1,501 university students were chosen through a purposive sampling technique. Most of the respondents were aged 18 to 20 years old (75.8%), females (77%), and on their second year in the university (24.7%). Results show that university students are highly knowledgeable about the nutritive value of fast food, having a positive attitude towards fast food consumption, and having high levels of perceived behavioral control. For the health outcome, it is seen that university students have low levels of quality of life. Further, only knowledge on nutritive value had a negative correlation with the domains of fast food consumption practices while attitude towards fast food consumption and perceived behavioral control are both positive in correlation. Moreover, only convenience food from the domains of fast food consumption has a statistically significant association with the domains of quality of life. All these correlation coefficients are found to be negative. In addition, perceived behavioral control was also found to be a significant factor of mental health