Modern nutrition problem of students in national economics university

NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION  INTERNATIONAL BACHELOR DEGREE PROGRAM MODERN NUTRITION PROBLEM OF STUDENTS IN NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY Tutor: Ms Le Thi Thu Mai Student: Nguyen Hanh Lien Hanoi, April 21st, 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS Modern nutrition problem of students in National Economics University ABSTRACT I INTRODUCTION: Background: Rationale: .3 Purposes: Scope: Research questions: Research methods: 6.1.Primary data: .4 6.2 Secondary data: Literature review: II MAJOR FINDING: CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS NUTRITION? .6 Macronutrients: Micronutrients: CHAPTER 2: THE NUTRITION PROBLEM AT NEU AND ITS EFECTS NEU students’ eating habits: NEU students and dietary: CHAPTER 3: ADVICES FOR NEU STUDENTS TO HAVE HEALTHIER DIETS AND BODIES 13 Having a balanced diet: 13 Doing exercise regularly: .14 Doing outside activities: 15 III CONCLUSION .16 IV APPENDIX: 17 1.Questionnaire: 17 Tables 21 Charts .24 V REFERENCE LIST: 28 Modern nutrition problem of students in National Economics University ABSTRACT The nutrition problem is a serious problem in all over the world, especially in Vietnam Poor nutrition destroys any nation It is the cause of many different troubles, such as being overweight, obesity, or even malnutrition This experiment aims to find out the modern nutrition problem of NEU students and give the best advices for them to have healthy bodies and healthy minds There were 100 students took part in this survey By their answers in the questionnaires, the researcher can understand clearly their real problem of nutrition To sum up, from this research, the author wants to point out the best methods to help NEU students have both physical and mental wellbeing by having a balanced diet and acting regularly Modern nutrition problem of students in National Economics University I INTRODUCTION: Background: Nutrition is known as a material necessary to support life of the human beings, the animals and the plants The human beings gain nutrition from the food in order to provide energy to grow and work There are main categories of nutrition: the macronutrients that include Protein, Carbohydrates, and Fats; the micronutrients such as Vitamins and Minerals The macronutrients help to build the structural material and provide the energy for the cells and the muscles to develop Despite of not providing energy, Vitamins and Minerals have another function that is useful for the survival and the health of the body To be healthy, people need the balanced diet that provides enough nutrients However, in fact, the percentage of people, especially the youth who are having nutrition problem is growing at an alarming rate It’s easy to realize that teenagers are becoming overweight or even obese The development of the fast food industry is due to a poor diet which just can’t get enough necessary nutrients Besides, in some developing countries, the state of malnutrition still has to be concerned Surprisingly, there are many people are trying to stay slim It means they really want to be thinner At National Economics University, there are lots of students have problems with the nutrition These problems have such a big impact not only on their health but also their study’s qualities Rationale:  Find out the percentage showing nutrition problem of NEU students  Evaluate the negative effect of the poor nutrition problem on the students’ health  Suggest possible solutions to help the students to have the healthy bodies Purposes: Obesity and malnutrition are becoming more popular Moreover, these two phenomena are the reasons of many serious diseases As a student of National Economics University, I have such a good opportunity to approach the other students to conduct a survey By doing this research, I can understand what the nutrition problem the NEU students are having: the obesity, the unfitness or the malnutrition I’ll also know why they have these affairs and Modern nutrition problem of students in National Economics University how the foods affect their health Additionally, this research shows some of the diseases people can get when they have nutrition problem To avoid diseases, I’ll give some advices for people to have healthier bodies Scope:  The specific areas: National Economic University  Time: Every break-time in the morning and the afternoon in weekday – when I can get easy to meet NEU students  Resource limits: 100 copies of questionnaire Research questions:  What is the real situation of diets and health of NEU students?  What make NEU students worry about their diets?  What are the effects of poor nutrition diet?  Which methods NEU students think will help them have a healthy body? Research methods: 6.1 Primary data:  Qualitative method: Use the In-depth interview method with 20 NEU students  Quantitative method: Typical questions will be identified and combined into questionnaires I will send 100 papers concluding those questions to 100 random NEU students It’s difficult to collect all of the papers; therefore, I will print more than needed The answers after that will be compared then compiled The opened questions will help me learn about their attitudes and the other ideas behind each answer 6.2 Secondary data:  Internet: I can collect the information about Nutrition, other research which has been done before about the youth’s nutrition problem, or some illustrated images for my presentation on it  Newspaper and magazine Modern nutrition problem of students in National Economics University  The channel “Everyday Health” on TV – which I can get some useful advices for having a healthy body Literature review: Nutrition is one of the most important things for the Health and the Development Poor nutrition is a danger of human’s health Nowadays, the world has to face up with many mistakes about nutrition, include obesity and malnutrition It’s due to a combination of poor diet and lack of exercise Children and teenager tent to be attracted to food that is high in sugar and fat such as various forms of fast food They also tent to be ignorant of what constitutes a healthy diet Following to Dr Blankenau, J.’s research “ Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity in Rural America”, an increasing number of young people are overweight and obesity has a significant economic impact The United States Department of Health and Human Services lists being overweight and obesity as one of the ten “leading health indicators” The youth are also much less active than they used to be Vietnam is becoming more developed, so Vietnamese’s modern lives have been changed significantly Fastfood came to Vietnam and became a hot trend People’s choices are often influenced by many factors, such as advertising by fast food companies For the activity problem, many Vietnamese young people are spending less time exercising and more time in front of the TV, computer or video-game console From poor nutrition to lack of activity, young people are becoming unhealthier Modern nutrition problem of students in National Economics University II MAJOR FINDING: CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS NUTRITION? Nutrition is the provision to cells and organisms of the materials necessary to support life The human beings gain nutrition from the food in order to provide energy to grow and work There are six major classes of nutrients: Carbohydrates, Fats, Protein, Vitamins, Minerals and Water and be categorized into groups: Macronutrients and Micronutrients Macronutrients:  Carbohydrates: constitute a big part of foods, such as rice, noodle, bread, grain Carbohydrates are absorbed quickly and therefore raise blood-sugar levels more rapidly than other nutrients  Proteins: are the basis of many animal body structures They form the enzymes that control chemical reactions throughout the body Sources of dietary protein include meats, eggs, soy-products, dairy products and tofu…  Fats: are classified as saturated or un saturated depending on the detailed structure of the fatty acids involved  Fiber: in grains, fruits and vegetables… These can help lower blood glucose levels  Water: is excreted from the body in multiple forms It is necessary to adequately rehydrate to replace lost fluids Micronutrients:  Vitamins: are the essential nutrients, can be found in fruits and vegetables…  Minerals Modern nutrition problem of students in National Economics University CHAPTER 2: THE NUTRITION PROBLEM AT NEU AND ITS EFECTS Nowadays, in some countries, including Vietnam, an increasing number of teenagers are having nutrition and weight problems These problems had bad influence on their health and also their studies Among people who are affected on nutrition problem, there are a lot of students studying at National Economics University The author will point out the real nutrition situation of NEU students in this chapter The research was focus on main purposes: NEU students’ eating habits and NEU students and dietary NEU students’ eating habits: Firstly, the participants were questioned about their meal frequency It can be seen from the chart, 39% of students ate – meals per day Normally, human needs to have at least meals include breakfast, lunch and dinner for providing enough energy in a day’s work or study Besides, people can also add some small meals to achieve their ideal physiques The result showed that nearly one third (31%) of students had – meals each day Because NEU students are young people, their nutrition demands are very high They ate many times a day to suppress their hunger Not surprisingly, many students usually ate Modern nutrition problem of students in National Economics University every – hours to get their meals in Moreover, there are 18% of students said they ate more than meals per day while only 12% ate – meals This chart illustrates NEU students’ favorite food, include main kind of food: meat, seafood, vegetable, bread, fastfood and junk food Vegetable and meat were the type of food which had the highest choices, with 68% and 67% These foods provided nutrition that useful for the survival and the health of body Nowadays, vegetable played an important role in diet so people add more vegetable in their meals Amazingly, junk food – the food which was very popular for people, especially for students had 59 choices It is easy to recognize that the modern youth ate too much junk food, which was likely contributing to the current obesity epidemic This kind of food was high in fat or sugars, and didn’t also having some nutritional value Besides, seafood, fastfood and bread had about 30 – 40 votes as students’ favorite food Finally, there was only out of 100 people gave the other answers Modern nutrition problem of students in National Economics University According to the experiment, 34% of students usually ate on time The percentage of students who didn’t this accounted for 29%, less than 5% For some reasons, students could not have meals on time such as not having enough time, not having enough money or even dislike doing this On the other hand, 37 NEU students said sometimes they had meals on time NEU students and dietary: The second matter that the research focuses on is NEU students’ dietary In all of 100 students who took part in this survey, only 37 students believed that it was good to go on a diet whereas nearly two third – 63% of them didn’t think so However, in fact, there was just over a half of NEU participants (59%) have been on diet When being asked for the reasons why 59 students have been on diet, the purpose “To achieve a more attractive figure” scored highest with 100% of the votes 74.6% of students believed that going on a diet helped them look like models, movie stars or singers, … In addition, 32 out of 59 students said they did it because they influenced of their friends Sadly, there was only 28 students went on diet in order to be healthier Some of participants also gave other reasons for dieting Modern nutrition problem of students in National Economics University doing some stretching exercises Next, you can something gentle like going for a walk, a bike ride, or going for a jog along the park or the lake for about half an hour Walking is one of the most popular ways to stay healthy because it does not require any special equipment All you need is just a good pair of sport shoes Furthermore, please try to take the stairs instead of the elevator and walking instead of driving as much as possible because they may help you more active If you want to train with relaxing exercises, doing aerobics, yoga or swimming are not the bad ideas! These methods help keep your body limber, more flexible They can also help reduce the stresses Exercise that involves much effort is the strenuous exercise Weight lifting is good for toning and building up the muscles In addition, the exercise machines are also great for resistance training In order to exercise regularly, people should make the training schedules It not only helps people be organized, but also control the amount and the level of doing exercise However, you should not too much and too quickly because you can damage your muscles and tissues Please train gradually from easy to difficult level to gain the results effectively Doing outside activities: On top of the modern youth are much less active than they used to be While in the past young people took part in numerous activities that burned a considerable amount of energy, many teenagers today spend their time indoors, using the computers or playing games instead of playing outside or doing sports They have no opportunities to burn off the calories they are taking in, leading to a problem called obesity The adults should encourage students to participate in the sports It is important to go out and have fun with friends too People can play football, tennis or basketball outside with their friends Going outside to volunteer works is also a great idea By joining outdoor activities teenagers have the chances to meet and make friend with other people while trying to stay healthier Moreover, exposing to the sun provides teenagers a great source of Vitamin D - which is good for the bones’ development Doing outside activities not only make people feel good, it also burns off calories, so it’s a good way to keep their weight down Modern nutrition problem of students in National Economics University III CONCLUSION Base on the imoportant roles of nutrition in NEU stuclents, it is clealy that students reacly need to have a balanced diet with full kind of nutrition each meal - meals per day is suit for students' development To stay on a diet, students don't need to skip meals or use weight loss pills These methods bring lots of disadvantages to people These methods influence directly on students' health so student cannot use 100% of energy for working and studying If students have an unbalanced diets, they can be tired, dizzy or even exhausted Besides, they can also have digestive peoblems and all drawbacks are to get unhealthy mind and body To have healthier diets and bodies, this rescarch showed NEU students main advices: having a balanced diet, doing exercise regularly and doing outside activities The author hopes that this project can help student know their nutrition problems and also solve these problems by themselves Modern nutrition problem of students in National Economics University IV APPENDIX: Questionnaire: Hello everyone! I am a student of National Economic University, Faculty of International Education, intake 6, class I6E I am doing the survey: “MODERN NUTRITION PROBLEM OF STUDENTS IN NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY” This survey will help me accomplish a project which is aimed at finding out not only the nutrition problem at NEU and its effect but also the suggestions to have healthier diets and bodies As you can see, this is not a test, so you don’t need to bother what is the right answer and if you want to keep your own private information, you won’t have to write your name on it I pledge that all information you provide will be kept confidential and only used for the purpose of research group in Faculty of International Education To answer this questionnaire, please circle the appropriate letters in front of the answers which you think are correct Please give your answer sincerely as only this will guarantee the success of the investigation Modern nutrition problem of students in National Economics University Respondent’s info (Optional) *Name: ……………………………………………… *Class: ……………………………………………… How many meals you eat each day? A - B - C - D More than What is your favorite kind of food? (Multiple choices) A Meat B Seafood C Vegetable & Fruit D Bread E Fastfood F Junk food G Others: ……………… Do you usually eat on time (breakfast, lunch, dinner)? A Yes B No C Sometimes Is it good to go on a diet? A Yes B No Modern nutrition problem of students in National Economics University Have you ever been on a diet? A Yes B No (move to question 9) Why you go on a diet? (Multiple choices) A To achieve a more attractive figure B To look like models, movie stars, singers C Influence of your friends D To be healthier E Others: ……………… How you diet? (Multiple choices) A Skipping meals B Using weight loss pills C Doing exercise D Eating lots of vegetables and fruits E Drinking a lot of water F Others: ……………… How you feel when staying on a diet? (Multiple choices) A Normal B Always hungry C Tired D Dizzy E Others: ………………