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HEALTH HAZARDS OF FAST FOOD CONSUMPTION AMONGST UNDERGRADUATES OF AYUB MEDICAL COLLEGE AND COMSATS ABBOTTABAD

Dr. Muhammad Rizwan Subhani, Dr Marriam Bakhtawar, Dr. Awais Akram

Medical College, Abbottabad conducted a study mainly to investigate the patterns and perceptions of undergraduate students of Ayub Medical College and COMSATS university regarding the associated health risks with the intake of fast food. Methodology: This was a cross sectional study performed on a sample of 384 participants of which 300 were from AMC and 84 were from COMSATS. A self- administered, structured questionnaire was used to collect data regarding age, gender, pattern of fast food consumption, perception regarding health hazards of fast food and knowledge about healthy food. Results: Through data analysis we acquired results that pertained to the current objectives of our study. We found that there was an almost even distribution when it came to how many males vs how many females consumed fast food i.e. 49.2% vs 50.8%, respectively. The number of students that considered the nutritional value of fast food was also investigated and it came to be that only 38.8% considered the nutritional value. 62.2% of the participants understood the health risks associated with fast food consumption. 64.3% of the students ate fast food when they were happy. When asked what their main reason for consumption was, 71.9% of the students said it was because of the taste and flavour whereas only 14.8% of the participants chose to consume fast food because it was convenient. Very few did any research regarding nutritional value of fast food, food brands and restaurant menus. 13% of students from AMC and 14.3% from COMSATS would do this research often. Conclusion: The awareness towards the health risks associated with fast food consumption is high with 62.2% understanding these health risks sufficiently. Even with this knowledge there is still not enough reluctance to consume fast food. The students hardly ever consider the nutritional value of the fast food they are consuming and fail to do adequate research regarding the caloric content, food brands and restaurant menus. Keywords: health hazards, fast food, consumption, undergraduates.

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