Abstract:
Due to the socio economic and environmental changes, western culture has been
inculcated in Thailand more and more resulting in a change of in people's lifestyles, especially
junk food consumption among adolescent students. At present, junk food consumption is part
of the culture and values held by this group of children and it will lead to health problems in
the future. This study was a survey which studied junk food consumption and factors relating
to junk food consumption, including the relationship between junk food consumption and
nutritional status of students. The sample composed 392 Grade 6, 9 and 12 students of
selected schools in Pathumwan District, Bangkok, Thailand. Data were collected using
questionnaires and analyzed by computing percentage, mean, SD, Chisquare test, Pearson
Product Moment Correlation, t-test and ANOVA. The confidence level to accept or reject the
research hypothesis was set at 95%.
The results of the research showed that most of the sampled students had a normal
nutritional status (78.8%) and 10.7 percent had obesity. Regarding consuming fast foods and
snacks, there were 64.5 percent and 65.1 percent, respectively, who had a low level problem
regarding fast food and snack consumption, while 43.4 percent had a moderate level problem
regarding soft drink consumption. The factor which affected junk food consumption of Grade
6 students was encouragement from guardians, and for Grade 9 students, it was found that
knowledge and attitudes toward junk food consumption, encouragment from friends, and the
recognition of the importance of marketing promotion strategies, were the factors which
affected their junk food consumption. There was no factor affecting junk food consumption of
grade 12 students. Regarding nutritional status of the students, no relationship was found with
their junk food consumption. The research results suggest that nutritional surveillance of
adolescents should be done continuously and healthy food consumption values should be
promoted in various occasions in order to replace junk food consumption