A Cross-Sectional Study of Electronic Media Influence on Eating Habits among School Going Adolescents

BACKGROUND Adolescence is the phase of transition when a child's body changes into that of an adult. Food product advertisements through electronic media may influence the eating habits amongst adolescents. The study aimed to find the usage of electronic media and its influence on the changing trends in the eating habits among adolescents. METHODS This is a school-based cross-sectional study conducted for three months in the three randomly selected schools of Ramghat Road locality of Aligarh City, U.P., India. A total of 600 adolescents formed the study sample selected by convenient sampling. A close-ended self-structured and pre-tested questionnaire was used as the study tool. Ethical clearance & consent were obtained from the Principal of the respective schools & study subjects. Data were entered in Microsoft Excel and analyzed by SPSS version 25. RESULTS All adolescents had access to at least one form of electronic media. Television was the most preferred electronic medium (42.83 %). Majority of the television viewers (70.3 %) watched TV for more than 2 hours a day. About 68.2 % of adolescents were bodyconscious. About 66.5 % were under the influence of advertisements for their eating habits. Around 48.8 % of the subjects preferred junk foods. Among the television viewers, majority (93.8 %) had the habit of eating food items while watching television. CONCLUSIONS There is a statistically significant influence of electronic media in changing the eating habits of adolescents. It is recommended to have strict advertisement policy for food products being advertised, targeting adolescents as they have a direct or indirect effect on their health.