1. Does the level of understanding of Orthodox Nutrition
of Bradford College Students differ between those who
are either studying a nutrition or a non-nutrition
course, and does it affects their diets?
Stephen Derick Cleaver
Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the degree of BA/BSc (Hons)
[Social Health and Nutrition]
Bradford College
April 2016
9276 Words

2. ContentsPage
Page Number
Abstract 4
Acknowledgement and listof abbreviations 5
1.0. Introduction 6
1.1. Healthy Eating Advice 7
1.2. National Dietand Nutrition Survey 8
1.3. Students and Weight gain 9
2.0. Literature review 10
2.1. Healthy balanced diet advice,benefits of a balanced diet and statisticsof a bad diet. 10
2.2. Weight gain problemwith students who are studyingat collegeor university. 11
2.3. Fruit, vegetables and fastfood consumption (Avram and Ovravitan,2013) 12
2.4. Nutritional knowledge and dietary habits survey in high school
Population (Milosavljević etal,2015) 13
2.5. Knowledge of current dietary guidelines and food choice by collegestudents:
Better eaters have higher knowledge of dietary guidance(Azizi et al,2011) and
Evaluation of the nutrition knowledge of sports department students of universities
(Ozdoğan and Ozcelik,2011) 14
2.6. Knowledge of current dietary guidelines and food choice by collegestudents:
better eaters have higher knowledge of dietary guidance(Kolodinsky et al 2007)
and Nutritional knowledge attitude and practices among students of Ahfad University
for Women (Elhassan etal 2013) 15
2.7. The dietary and physical activity habits of university students on health and
non-health related courses (Shah et al 2011) 16
3.0. Methodology 17
3.1. Location, Age and Number of the samplegroup. 18
3.2. Questionnaire 19
3.3 PilotStudy and main study 20
4.0. Results and Discussion 21
4.1. How many portions of fruitand vegetables are you supposed to eat per day? 21
4.2. How many portions of fruitand vegetables would you eat on a typical day? 22
4.3. What is the maximum amount of saltin grams should be consumed in the daily diet? 23
4.4. How many portions of oily fish should therebe in the diet? 24
4.5. What is the percentage of carbohydrates someone should consume a day? 25

3. Page Number
4.6. What is the percentage of protein someone should consume a day? 26
4.7. What is the percentage of fat someone should consume a day? 27
4.8. How healthy do you feel your diet is rightnow? 28
4.9. What changes could you make to improve your diet? 29
4.10. What is the main barrier to eating healthier? 30
4.11. What would help you eat more healthier? 31
4.12. Critical evaluation of the study. 32
5.0. Conclusion. 33-34
6.0. References 35-37
7.0. Appendices
7.2. 1-6 Research Project Tutorial Progress Form 38 -43
7.3. Informed Consent Forms 44
7.4. Questionnaireused for the Pilot 45 -46
7.5 Re-adjusted questionnaireused for main study 47-48

4. Abstract
The purpose of thisinvestigationistodetermine whohadbetterknowledge of nutritionand
whethertheywere followingthe guidelinesandwhatif stoppingthemfromeatinghealthier.
The students inthisstudywasall attendingBradfordCollege,whichthe healthdegreestudents
whichwere eitherstudyingsocial nutritionandhealthorHealthandSocial Welfare andforthe
studentsfromthe non-healthdegree were studyingcomputing.
Fortyquestionnaireswere handedouttothe students whichhalf of them, wenttobothhealthand
non-healthrelateddegree students.The questionnaireshad11 questionswhichrangedinaskingthe
studentsfrombarrierstoeatinghealthiertoknowledgeof nutritional knowledge onthe healthy
eatingprinciples.Only16studentsfullyfilledoutthe questionnaireswhichwere evenlysplit
betweenthe studentsstudyingahealthdegree andthe studentsstudyinganon-healthrelated
degree. The resultswere analysedandputintobarcharts for easycomparisonfrom the healthand
non-healthdegree students.
The main findingsfromthisstudyisthatthe healthdegree studentshadmore knowledge onhealthy
eatingopposedtothe onesstudyinganon-healthdegree.Itwouldappearthatif nutritionisapart
of theirfieldof study,theyare more likelytoeathealthierthanthose whose fieldisn’trelatedto
nutrition.The healthdegreestudentsate more fruitandvegetablescomparedtothe studentswho
was studyinganon-healthdegree.Intheory,thosestudentswhodidn’tlearnnutritionaspartof
theircourse or school,dietsare likelytobe worse.
For the benefitof those wholacknutritional knowledgetoimprove the chancesof eatinghealthier
withconsumptionof fruitandvegetables,wouldbenefitconsiderablyif there wouldbe more
interventionswhichofferednutritionandcooking itcouldbe a verypositive steptoreduce the rising
obesityratesinEngland.

5. Acknowledgement
A bigthankyou for all those whotookpart to make thisresearchpossible. ThankyouforJaqueline
Tankard andher studentsfromthe Social NutritionandHealthstudentswhotookpartinthisStudy.
Thank youTrevorRodgersand hisstudentsfromthe social healthandwelfare studentsandPaul
Garside and hisstudentsfromthe computingdegree formakingtime forthisresearchproject
possible.
List of Abbreviations
WHO – WorldHealthOrganization.
NHS – National HealthService.
Facultyof PublicHealth – FPH
BritishNutritionFoundation –BNF
National DietandNutritionSurvey –NDNS
PublicHealthEngland - PHE

6. 1.0.
Introduction
1.1 Obesity
Obesityisdefinedassomeone whoiscarryingaroundalot of bodyfat and in the UnitedKingdom
Obesityisacommon problem withone infouradults,andone outof every five childrenaged10to
11 affected(NHS,2014. PHE, 2015). 8% of deathsannuallyare contributedtobeingoverweightand
obese (Ibid).
It isestimated the indirectcosts of obesitywhichincludelossof productivity arisingfromobesity
problemsisprojected tobe around£27 billionin2015 accordingto PublicHealthEngland(PHE,
2015).Obesitycoststhe National HealthService (NHS) in2007 £4.2 billion,whichistentimesmore
than the £479.3 millionin1998. The costsis increasingeachyearputtingabig strainon the NHS and
the Tax payers(Ibid).
An individual isconsideredobese if theyhave aBMIof 30 to 39.9, which has beenknowntoreduce
life expectancyof around3 years,whichcan increase toeightor ten,if the individualisseverely
obese which meansthe individualhasaBMI of more than40 (NHS,2014. PHE, 2015).
Whenan individualconsumesfoodanddrink especially highfatandsugaryfoods,more thanthe
energyexpendedthroughphysical activityandbody’smetabolismoveralongperiod of time itcan
accumulate excessbodyfat(PHE,2016, NHS, 2014).
Obesitycanleadto life threateningconditionscontributedtophysical changeswhichare type 2
diabetes,coronaryheartdisease,certaincancersandstroke (NHS,2014). Qualityof life iseffected
and can leadto psychological problems,suchaslow self-esteemanddepression(Ibid).
BradfordCityCouncil (2006) has saidthat Yorkshire andHumberside isthe lowestregion foran
average personwhodoesnot meettheirfive fruitandvegetablesrecommendationssetoutbythe
government. Life expectancy includingdeathsfromsmoking,earlydeathsfromheartdiseaseand
strokesinthe BradfordDistrict,isworse than the Englandaverage,eventhoughinthe lasttenyears
deathsfromheartdisease andstroke have decreasedinBradford, howeveritstill remainsworse
than the EnglandAverage (PublicHealthObservatories,2010). Evidence suggestthateatinghabits
can be influenced throughfamilies,culture andoftenmaintainedfromchildrightthroughto
adulthood.
Adultsare more than likely tomaintainahealthyweight,by areductionof highenergydense foods
and drinks,andinsteadconsume adietwhichislowerinfat,highinfibre,fruitandvegetables,
wholegrains,leanmeatandfish(PHE, 2016).

7. 1.2 Healthy Eating Advice
The followingis generaladvice toeata healthybalanceddiet fromthe Eatwellplate (NHS,2015)
 Base carbohydrate intake fromstarchycarbohydrates.
 Eat at least5 portionsof fruitand vegetablesaday.
 Eat some milkanddairy food.
 Eat some meat,fisheggs,beansandothernon-dairysourcesof protein.
 Eat small amountsof highfat and sugaryfoods.
Healthyeatingisassociatedwithdecreasingthe riskof becomingoverweightand/orobeseand
helpspreventchronicdiseases,suchastype 2 diabetes,hypertensionandcertaincancers.(PHE,
2016). Of course there isa big gap betweenthe nutritional recommendationsfromsourcessuchas
the Eatwell plate andwhatthe data shows that people actuallyeat (Ibid).

8. 1.3 National Dietand NutritionSurvey
The latestNational DietandNutritionSurvey(NDNS) datawere releasedon14th
may 2014 from PHE
whichshowsoverall the population isstilleatingfartoomuchsaturatedfat,eatingfoodswithadded
saltand sugars,not eatingenoughfruit,vegetables,oilyfishandfibre (PHE,2014).
The NDNS,is an annual surveywhichis designedtoassessthe nutritionalstatusandfood
consumptionof UKrepresentativesof asample of 1000 people per yearwhichconsistedof 500
childrenand500 adults,aged18 monthsand onwardslivinginprivate householdsonce ayearfrom
2008-2012 (Ibid).
The NDNS reports:
 Fruitand Vegetableintake for16 to 64 yearoldsconsumedanaverage 4.1 perday and for
those aged65 and olderconsumed4.6 portions.Only30% of adultsand41% of olderadults
metthe “5-day” recommendation.
 Simple sugarconsumptionshouldbe nomore than11% of calorieseatenperdayon
average,itwasaround 14.7% fromchildrenaged4-10 year oldsand11-18 yearoldswere
consuming15.6% a day.
 Saturatedfat isalsorecommendednomore than11% of total energyconsumedaday.This
was 12.6% from adultsaged19-64 years.Howevertransfatwere meetingrecommendations
setby guidelines.
 Saltintake a day isrecommendedat6 grams a day for an adult,andsalthas exceeded the
governmentrecommendationsat7.2g a day.
 Oilyfishconsumptionwas well lowerthanthe recommended140g perweekinall of the age
groups.
 46% of girlsand 23% of woman had low ironintakes.
 Bloodanalysisshow that23% of adultsaged19-64 years hadlow VitaminDstatus and 22%
of childrenaged11-18 whichincreasedto40% for both groups inthe wintermonths.

9. 1.4 Studentsand WeightGain
Accordingto Gropperet al (2012) a 4 year studywasconductedand 70% of the studentswhowere
monitoredgainedanaverage 5.3kgsof body fatthroughoutthe fouryearsof studyingatcollege.
Florence etal (2008) studysays there isa directlinkbetweenhealthyfood andperformance on
college anduniversitystudieswhere poorperformanceislinkedtobaddiets.Accordingtoone study
by Shahet al (2011) where studentsona healthrelatedcourse ate more fruitandvegetablesand
had smallerwaiststhanthose students whoare notstudyingahealthrelatedcourse.Itwill be
interestingtoknowif thisisthe case, butmore importantlybutwhatare studentsunderstandingof
orthodox nutrition.Dotheyknowwhatitismeantby orthodox diet?If notwhynot?

10. 2.0. Literature Review
2.1. Healthy Balanced advice and Benefits
It is well known that a healthy balanced diet throughout the course of life can help prevent
malnutrition, non-communicable diseases and conditions for an individual’s life (World
Health Organization, 2015). There is no single food that can provide all the essential nutrient
the body needs so therefore it is very important to consume a wide variety of foods (BNF,
2016). Eating a wide variety of foods help provide essential nutrients such as protein,
vitamins, minerals, and fibre which is needed for physical health and well-being (Ibid).
More people are consuming foods highly dense in energy, fats, and sugars, salt and not
eating enough fruit, vegetables and dietary fibre such as whole grains, which is a major
concern for eating habits for students at college or at university as poor eating habits around
studying can persist further into life (WHO, 2015. Avram and Ovravitan, 2013). The food that
someone eats, can have an impact on how the mind and body works and basic knowledge
of how to eat healthy will help contribute to a student at college or at university get the most
out of their studying experience and help create lifelong healthy eating habits (BNF, 2016).
Healthy balanced advice recommendations from the National Health Service (2016):
 Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables
 Eat plenty of starchy foods, such as wholemeal bread, rice, potatoes and pasta:
 Eat some meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein
 Eat some milk and dairy foods
 Eat only a small amount of food and drinks that are high in fat or sugar.
There are many benefits of eating healthy and they include from the Faculty of Public Health
(2005):
 Consuming fruit and vegetables are very good way to prevent stroke.
 Reducing salt/sodium consumption decreases the risk of high blood pressure which
could lead to CHD.
 Increased dietary fibre, is linked to decreasing the risk of Colorectal and Pancreatic
cancer.
 Keeping body mass index down below 25kg.m2 can help avoid endometrial cancer
by 40%, and breast and colon cancer by 10%.
Not following the healthy eating recommendations are likely to lead to an unhealthy diet
which carries great risk factors for a variety of chronic diseases (FPH, 2005). These include,
cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes type 2, becoming overweight and/or obese with
complications (WHO, 2016). Statistically poor diets cause almost 50% of CHD deaths, 33%
of cancer deaths and increase the risks of falls and fractures in older people (Ibid).

11. 2.2. Weight gain problems with students studying at college or university
It is known that students are prone to gaining weight due to poor physical activity and dietary
habits during their time at university. (Shah, 2011). For heading off to University can be a
very exciting time and with moving home, practical things like diet and eating sensibly are
can be ignored, as the average student at university gain weight as much 14 -28lbs of body
fat through the first year (BNF 2016. Zolfagharifard, 2013). During the time of going into
higher education the tendency to engage in unhealthy diets, skipping meals and heavily
relying on fast food is common (Lua and Elana, 2013).
A survery Zolfagharifard (2013) found:
 Six in ten of UK university students said they had takeaways around three to five
times per week.
 One third only ate fruit and vegetables once a week or less, half of the students
questioned relied on convenience foods such as readymade meals and pre-prepared
cooking sources up to five times per week.
 The main reasons given from this report for preventing them from eating healthy,
students blamed their social lives, tight budgets and costs of healthy food.
 The biggest influences on food choices were cost, ease and speed of cooking with
only 10 per cent of people saying they even considered their health when deciding
what to eat.
 A third of the students questioned would not know how to make a meal such as
spaghetti bolognaise from scratch, 59% described that healthy eating on a budget as
either “difficult” or “very difficult”, 94% said they would like to see healthier food
available at universities.
Factors preventing university students for not eating a healthy balanced diet include lack
of time, discipline, self-control, social support, rising prices of eating healthily and budget
(Deliens et al, 2014).

12. 2.3. Avram and Ovravitan (2013) Fruit, Vegatables and Fast Food
Consumption among UniversityStudents
In a cross sectional study by Avram and Ovravitan, (2013) and a sample of 435 University
students from Timisoara University Center Romania, volunteered for this study. They were
asked to complete a self-administered diet questionnaire, the results of the questionnaires
showed that:
• Only two-thirds of students were not eating fruits and vegetables daily.
• Students consuming fruits on a daily basis were found to be lower than 25%.
• Fast food consumption with students were found to be 25%.
This report identifies that there were three main barriers from preventing the students to eat
a proper balanced diet which were due to:
• Lack of time.
• School timetable.
• Lack of money.
This report suggests the university students are generally eating unhealthy, with barriers
from eating healthier due to time commitments and money issues. It is said by the NHS
(2016) that more healthy foods and beverages, are higher in price than the ones that are
considered less healthy, which suggests that this may influence peoples food purchasing
habits. This report is just a diet questionnaire into the university students’ diets rather than
general knowledge of nutrition.

13. 2.4 Nutritional knowledge and dietary habits survey in high school population
(Milosavljević et al, 2015)
This study was in aid of assessing general knowledge of the students, of nutrition with
questions based on knowledge of nutrients, dietary recommendations and sources of
nutrition, diet-disease relationships and dietary habits. The sample consisted 117 college
students aged between, 17 and 19, they were handed a self-administered anonymous
questionnaire, a version of the general nutrition and knowledge questionnaire. (Milosavljević
et al, 2015).
This study showed the following
 One third of the adolescents showed good knowledge of general nutrition.
 Boys from rural environment and those who are overweight adolescents showed
lower knowledge unlike the rest of the students.
 Skipping meals were a habit and the most common where breakfast.
 Consumption of meat and meat products were high especially for the boys and fruit
and vegetables for the girls.
 Fad dieting was common habit for adolescent or overweight girls.
 Consumption of soft sugary drinks were high in boys and sweets were high for girls.
 Television was the main source of nutritional information according to the students.
From the Milosavlievic et al (2015) report it does appear that the students have reasonably
poor knowledge on nutrition in general and the main source of knowledge is through the
medium of television. Note this is an American study, so this may not represent the
knowledge of nutrition of university student of the United Kingdom. Furthermore the report
does not specify if these students are studying on a health or a non-health degree. Some
studies into researching students’ knowledge of nutrition could be increased as a part if it is
a part of their field of study as some college courses and degrees, require knowledge of
basic nutrition.

14. 2.5 Knowledge of current dietary guidelines and food choice by college students:
better eaters have higher knowledge of dietaryguidance (Mohamad, 2011) and
Evaluation of the nutrition knowledge of sports department students of universities
(Ozdoğan and Ozcelik, 2011)
This next study which was designed to help researchers understand the nutrition knowledge,
attitude and practices of 360 students of Azad university of Gurgaon, through a self-
administered questionnaire (Azizi et al, 2011). The results say the nursing and physical
education students came first and second for the highest knowledge of nutrition respectively
of with the scores 53.93% and 51.62%. This was expected because nutritional knowledge is
part of their field, so this explains why the business students had the lowest scores for
nutrition knowledge. (Ibid)
However a very similar study with 363 students attending the teaching and coaching
department of Hacettepe, Ankara and Gazi university, which offer courses on nutrition, which
were asked 30 true and false questions to evaluate their nutritional knowledge(Ozdoğan and
Ozcelik, 2011). Nutritional knowledge for students wanting to be teachers and coaches was
low, as they were not aware how much nutrition has on performance (ibid). This study again
was based in America and wouldn’t represent how students’ knowledge of nutrition
increases while studying a health degree in the United Kingdom, even though it is very likely.

15. 2.6 Knowledge of current dietary guidelines and food choice by college students:
better eaters have higher knowledge of dietaryguidance (Kolodinsky et al 2007) and
Nutritional knowledge attitude and practices among students of Ahfad Universityfor
Women (Elhassan et al 2013)
A study from 2005 by Kolodinsky et al (2007), study of a sample of 200 college students to
help identify how closely the students followed the Dietary guidelines for Americans of 2005,
whether their eating patterns had any relationship to their knowledge of dietary guidelines.
This study suggested that students were likely to consume more fruit, dairy, protein and
whole grains increased when students had knowledge of healthy eating advice could begin
their own positive eating patterns and meet nutritional eating guidelines for themselves
(Ibid).
This study by Elhassan et al (2013) explains that health and non-health students could have
different results on whether they knew enough about healthy eating principles. This study
aimed to assess nutritional knowledge, attitude and practices among the female students
attending Ahfad University in the Omdurman province, which were schools of medicine,
pharmacy, health science, rural extension, psychology and management.
The findings were:
 55.1% of students didn’t know what food group should be eaten least.
 52% of students didn’t know which food group contains high amounts of fibre.
 66.6% of students had no idea which foods contain the most calcium.
 38.3% of students didn’t know which the three main food components are.
 35.1% of students didn’t know examples of food which contain protein.
 46% of students gave wrong answers when they were asked to choose the true
statement of fat.
 38.9% of students didn’t know which foods contain sources of carbohydrate.
 73.4% of students didn’t know which foods contain vitamin b12 and iron.
 16.3% of students had no idea soft drinks can be hazard to health.
 35.1% of students weren’t aware about major problems in relation to low
consumption of fruit and vegetables.
The findings were similar to previous studies which have been known that nutritional
knowledge is linked to the field of study such as the one with Azizi et al(2011). Increased
knowledge of nutrition were high for students studying medicine, health science and
pharmacy compared to lower nutritional knowledge for students who were studying
psychology and management, which has been subjects on nutritional courses or related
courses in nutrition (Elhassan et al, 2013). This study may have suggested nutritional
knowledge maybe better for those studying a health related degree opposed to a non-health
related degree. This study doesn’t suggest the students eating habits are any different from
those who know the recommendations set by the government for healthy eating. All this is
suggesting that improved knowledge of nutrition, is increased due to their field of study, not
stating what the students eating habits are and if their increased knowledge of nutrition
improves their eating habits.

16. 2.7 The dietary and physical activity habits of universitystudents on health and non-
health related courses (Shah et al, 2011)
Shah et al’s (2011) study did not determine whether students at university of differing
courses have different dietary and physical activity habits, so the aim of this study is to
investigate the dietary and physical activity of health related courses and non-health related
course students. They were assessed through 30 minute structured interviews, which
assessed dietary and physical activity habits, they looked at diet history whilst studying at
the university, each student documented, their diets through a 7-day weighed food diary
which energy and macronutrient intakes were analysed using the dietplan-6 analysis
software program (Ibid). Physical measurements including height weight and waste
circumference were recorded by the interviewer before interview questions (Ibid).
This supports the idea that knowledge of nutrition can have an impact on their own diets as
health related course students in Shah et al (2011) study had a greater fruit and vegetable
intake which were on average 4.8 portions a day compared to non-health related course
students on an average 3.2 portions a day (Ibid). Lower waste circumferences compared to
the non-health related course students. This is likely to be because of the awareness and
impact of healthy behaviours through their courses (Ibid)
This study suggests increased amounts of knowledge from the health related courses could
have an impact on how they eat themselves for the better compared to non-health students,
however it does not ask the question why. However this is an American study and students
studying for a Health Degree over in the UK may not necessarily apply, and furthermore it is
just suggested they ate healthier than non-health students, so whether they are eating more
because they are aware of the guidelines the report did not ask this.

17. 2.8. Eating habits and Nutritional status among the Bangladeshi Medical Students
Depending upon BMI Chowberry, (2014)
Not all studies are in agree students who have increased nutritional knowledge in the
background of their field of study means they are aware enough of the guidelines set by the
government and eat healthier.
This study from Chowberry, (2014) proves not everyone who has increased knowledge
especially those of students “practice what they preach” even if they themselves are
studying for a health related degree. A cross sectional descriptive study was carried out on a
107 Medical Students at the East-West Medical College, Dhaka Bangladesh. The aim of this
study, was to see what their eating habits were like considering medical students do have
nutritional knowledge as part of their training.
The study showed:
 More than half had regular breakfast.
 Majority only consumed fruits about once to two times a week.
 33.6% ate vegetables only once a week.
 51.4% drank 2 litres of water daily.
This has proven that just because a student has knowledge of healthy eating advice,
certainly for medical students in this study that it does not mean they will apply it for
themselves. Chowberry’s (2014) study implies that if students have the basic knowledge of
nutrition recommendations as a part of their degree, it doesn’t mean they will be aware to eat
healthy, so the question is why aren’t they eating healthier if they already know the dangers
of not eating a balanced diet? The weakness of this study doesn’t say if there were any
barriers preventing from consuming a balanced diet which is very interesting since, it would
these students who are hoping to qualify to become Doctors and help other people become
healthy from ill health and may have to offer advice to patients on the subject on healthy
eating recommendations.
Knowledge of healthy eating and knowing how to cook can have an impact on someone’s
diet with the success of an intervention called “Can Cook” which gave nutrition and basic
cooking skills classes to adults in Liverpool. The adults who attended this intervention
reportedly ate more fruit and vegetables than before they attended an intervention (Jenkins,
2012).

18. 3.0 Methodology
3.1 Location, Age and Number of the sample group
For this report, the target group of the research is going to be college students a Bradford
College at the David Hockney Building. The purpose of this research project is to see if two
college course on the second year of a foundation degree, have different knowledge on
healthy eating which one will be a health and the other course being a non-health degree.
Also looking at if they are eating the right foods, if their knowledge correlates to eating more
healthily. The idea that the students have to be on the second year of the foundation degree
is research two sets of degree students at the same level, only on a health and non-health
degree, so they are both on the equivalent level of education. For ethical reasons, the British
Psychological Society (2010) says that people under the age of 16 will not be asked to fill out
the questionnaire unless they have written consent from their parents or guardians, which for
purpose of this study, the students had to be 16 years of age to take part in this study. Which
students studying for degrees in England are a minimum of 18 years from year one of study.
The number of students for the sample which were originally were searched for to participate
for this research report were originally 40. Walsh (2001) suggested that a sample group of
30-60 participants would generate enough data for analysis. This is going to be utilizing
questionnaires, which is going recording data in numerical form and rely on statistics top
summarize the data which the questionnaires collected (Walsh, 2001. Ruane, 2005).

19. 3.2. Questionnaire
The questionnaires were used to survey the students’ knowledge of healthy eating which is a
relatively inexpensive means of collecting data and its fairly quick means of collecting lots of
data in a short space of time (Descombe, 2014). The questions were based on the survey
briefly mentioned in the introduction from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey of 2014,
where the population were eating too much high fat, sugary foods and not enough fruit and
vegetables. Even though with the possible time related and data collecting benefits, unless
the questionnaires weren’t conducted face to face, it can be difficult for people to complete
and the response rates is quite low due to complexity a questionnaire can be, so there for
the researcher will be available to as personal contact response can tend to increase
response rates (Walsh, 2001. Denscombe, 2014). This is so the questions were understood
and help those who struggle (Walsh, 2001). The length of questionnaire is important, which
is all a matter of asking questions vital for research and since answering questions takes
mental effort, they could lose enthusiasm if the questions are too long and drawn out
(Denscombe, 2014). The consequence of long questions is that the questionnaires won’t be
completed and quite possibly the effort could be minimized to answering the questions, as
there is a risk of respondents agreeing with the statements for example and ticking boxes
just to appear completed (Ibid).
For ethical reasons, research project tutorial progress forms were used to assist the
researcher with keeping the supervisor updated with the progress of the report as well as
recommendations to keep the research project in line ethically (Appendices 7.2). The
recommendations the supervisor gave were carried out accordingly for this research report.

20. 3.2. Pilot study and field study
Pilot Study
As Denscombe (2014) recommended, a pilot of the questionnaire were carried out before
performing the research investigation to check if there anything wrong with the questionnaire
before the real field study.
A pilot study which is a small trial run before the main research investigation took place in
order to test whether the methods used by questionnaire took place worked out (Walsh,
2001). The trial took place with 5 volunteers which are not students of Bradford College, to
see whether, trying out the questionnaires in the field with real students would find out if
there were hidden surprises with data collection due to questionnaire forms (Descombe,
2014). (Appendices 7.3 for a copy of the original questionnaire of the pilot study).
General feed-back were just capital letters where there shouldn’t be. One of the volunteers
for the questionnaire, did say she were just guessing with some of the questions with 1, 3
and 4. Subsequently, the answers have an option of “not sure” for answering the questions,
in the assignment. (Appendices 7.4 for the questionnaire for the study).
Main Study
Forty questionnaires were divided into two groups with one half going to be delivered to the
health degree students and the other half going to the non-health degree students. The non-
health degree students were studying for a computing degree which the questionnaires were
handed to the supervisor from the researcher from this report. The students from the non-
health degree filled out the questionnaires for them to be handed back to the researcher.
The health degree students from the social care and health group, were approached as they
were leaving to fill in a questionnaire by the researcher and the social nutrition and health
degree students were readily available in their lecture room to be approached for them to fill
in the questionnaires.
All students signed the consent prior to filling in their questionnaires as informed consent
means that the participants are informed of what the research which they are participating in
is about and for them to give their consent (Thomas and Nelson, 2001).
Questionnaires which were filled out and completed were stored in a safe with a key as they
are made to be kept secure and will not be changed by the researcher (Descombe, 2014.
Thomas, 2001). None of the research in this report is used from other people’s ideas, works,
writings or other work and then claiming this report to be original or fabricated or falsified to
suit the outcome in this report no matter what outcome whether it or not supports the
preferred outcome will be published (Thomas and Nelson, 2001).
After the data were collected, the answers were analysed and put into bar charts for easy
viewing and appropriate for displaying the frequencies to be measured at the nominal level
(Ruance, 2005).

21. 4.0 Results and Discussion
4.1 How many portions of fruit and vegetables are you supposed to eat per day?
Table 1 above
Table 1 represents what the subjects thinks how many portions of fruit and vegetables are
supposed to be eaten per day. Most of the health and non-health related degree students
answered that five portions of fruit and vegetables should be consumed per day. More health
degree students answered 5 portions just by one more.
The first question asked on the questionnaire was “how many portions of fruit and
vegetables are you supposed to eat per day?” The World Health Organization (2016)
recommends the consumption of eating 400 grams minimum of fruit and vegetables a day,
to reduce diseases which include cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. The “5 a day”
campaign is based on the 400 grams of fruit and vegetables that the WHO (2016) someone
should eat per day, as there is evidence to support the health benefits from eating more fruit
and vegetables (NHS, 2015). Each portion of fresh fruit and vegetables should be 80 grams
in weight and five portions add up to the WHO recommendation (NHS, 2015).
On the bar chart it would appear more students from the health related degree know exactly
how much fruit and vegetables per day should be consumed compared to the non-health
degree students. One of the students from the health degree surprisingly got this wrong and
said it was two portions, while two students from the non-health degree thought it was three
or four portions to be consumed a day. It is likely the students from both types of degree,
especially the non-health degree answered this correctly because of the "5 a day” campaign
the NHS started in 2003, according to Mosley (2013) it is one of the best known of all
government health messages and seems to be one of the most successful at spreading their
message.

22. 4.2 How many portions of fruit and vegetables would you eat on a typical day?
Table 2 above
Table 2, shows how many portions of fruit vegetables they consume on a typical daily basis.It students from the
health degree seem to be eating more fruit and vegetables than the non-health degree.Only one studentfrom a
health degree,reportedly ate more than 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day. All of the others were eating less
than the recommended 5 a day. One student from the health related degree said they were not eating any
portions of fruit and vegetables on a typical day as well all two students from the non-health degree.
The second question which was asked is how many portions of fruit and vegetables, would
they eat on a typical day? The bar chart shows that the health degree students would be
eating more portions of fruit and vegetables a day than the non-health degree students on a
typical day. Only one student from the health degree seemed to be eating more than the“5 a
day” which the NHS (2015) recommends for good health. Even though there were more
portions of fruit and vegetables consumed by the health degree students compared to the
non-health degree students with surprisingly only one student from the health degree, said to
not eat any fruit and vegetables compared to two of the students from the non-health
degree. Apart from the one person who ate more than the NHS (2015) recommended of “5 a
day” only a two from the health related degree and one student from the non-health degree
came close to meeting the government’s recommendation. Considering from the last
question where the majority of both health and non-health related degrees answered it
should be 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, it would seem that knowing this does not
mean they apply it themselves. This is similar to Chowberry’s (2013) study which proved that
not everyone with increased knowledge of the healthy eating principles followed the advice.
Most of the students apart from one are not meeting their fruit and vegetable
recommendations. However since more students on the health degree were eating more
fruit and vegetables compared to the non-health degree students it could be assumed that
knowledge of nutrition from their degrees could have an impact on their own diets like Shah
et als (2011) study which found the students were eating more portions of fruit and
vegetables compared to the students studying for a degree not related to health. Mosley
(2013) has already said the 5 a day message that the government spread out round the
country is really successful, however the students are not reaching this recommendation.
This mirrors the national picture (PHE, 2014).

23. 4.3. What is the maximum amount of salt in grams should be consumed in the daily
diet?
Table 3 above
Table 3, showswhatthestudentsthinkshould bethe maximum gramsof saltshould beconsumed
daily. Four of the healthstudents answered therecommended 6gramsof salt can be consumed and
the lowestthey answered were 2 grams.Of the non-health degreestudents 2of themwere not sure
and the othersthoughtthey could consumelessthan 6 grams.
The third questionwhichwasaskedwaswhatisthe maximumamountof saltingrams that should
be consumedperday?It is recommendthatadultsshouldnotconsume more than6% of salt intheir
dietsona dailybasisas eatingtoomuch saltcan increase the riskof high bloodpressure,heart
disease,kidneydiseaseandstroke (NHS,2015. BDA,2013).
The chart saysthat half of the healthdegree studentsgotthe answerrightfromwhatit is
recommendedand2more of the healthstudentscame close tothe salt intake ingrams.Noone
fromthe non-healthdegree studentsansweredcorrectlyand2 of themwere notsure whatthe
maximumsaltintake shouldbe.Itwouldappearthe healthdegree studentshadabetterideaof how
much saltto consume more thanthe non-healthdegree students.ThiswouldsupportElhassanetal
(2013) studywhichshowedthatthose ona healthrelateddegree hadgreaterknowledge.Azizi et
al’s(2011) studysuggeststhatstudentsstudyingnon-healthdegree,have loweramountsof
knowledge abouthealthyeating.Thishelpsprovethatthe healthdegree studentshave an
advantage overthe non-healthdegree inhow knowinghow toanswerthisquestion.

24. 4.4 How many portionsof oily fishshouldthere be in the dietper week?
Table 4 above
Table 4 showshowmany portionsof oily fish the student’s thing should bein the diet each week.
Morestudentssurprisingly fromthehealth degree,were not surehow many portionsof oily fish
should bein thediet compared to thenon-health degreestudents.Majority of thenon-health degree
answered theright numberof portions which is 2, compared to the numberof health degree
students.
The fourthquestionaskedhowmanyportionsof oilyfishshouldtherebe inthe dietperweek.Itis
recommendedthat2portionsof oilyfishshouldbe consumedperweekasone portionshouldbe
around140 grams (NHS,2015). The reasonbehindthe recommendations,isbecause oilyfish
containsa special kindof fatknownas Omega-3fattyacids,whichisknownto helppreventheart
disease (Ibid).
Surprisinglythe non-healthdegree studentsansweredcorrectlytothe two portionswhichis
recommendedcomparedtothe healthdegreestudents,more of the healthdegreestudents
comparedto the non-healthdegree studentssaidtheywere notsure whatthe recommendationis.
Thiscontradictsthe theorythat studentsstudyingahealthrelateddegree suchasthe studyby
Elhassanetal (2013), howeverbothgroupsof studentshadthe majoritysaythe recommendation
for oilyfishbythe NHS(2015) is twoportionfroma week.

25. 4.5. What is the percentage of carbohydrates someone shouldconsume a day?
Table 5, above
Table 5 showswhatpercentageof carbohydratesthatthestudentsthoughtshould beconsumed
daily. Three people frombothhealthand non-health degreesanswered equally on 50% with more
non-healthdegreestudentswerenotsurecompared to health degreestudents.
The fifthquestionaskedwhatisthe percentage of carbohydratesthatshouldbe consumedaday.It
isrecommendbythe FoodStandard Agencythatcarbohydratesshouldatleastmake up50% of the
energyconsumeddaily.Carbohydratesisthe mainenergysupplyforthe bodytokeepthe organs
functioning(FoodStandardsAgency,2007. BDA,2013).
From the bar chart it showsthat,three studentsfromeachgroupgot the questionright.More
Studentsfromthe non-healthdegree saidthattheywere notsure comparedtothe healthrelated
degree.Thisshowsthateventhoughhalf the studentsof eachgroupgotthe recommendationright,
more studentsfromthe non-healthdegree werenotsure of how much carbohydratesshouldbe
consumedaday.

26. 4.6 What is the percentage of Proteinsomeone shouldconsume a day?
Table 6 above
Table 6, showsthatshowswhatpercentageof protein thatthestudentsthoughtshould be
consumed daily.Thehighestamountof health degreestudentsthinkthatprotein should countfor
15% of whatsomeoneshould consumea day which is therecommended amount, whilethehighest
numberof non-healthdegreestudentsbelieveit is 35% of whatsomeoneshould consumea day.
The sixthquestionaskswhatisthe percentage of proteinthatshouldbe consume aday.The
recommendationfortotal energyfromproteinadayis a small 15% of energywhichisneededfor
growthand maintenance of musclesandmaintainhealthybones(BritishNutritionFoundation,
2016).
Thisgraph showsthat more studentsfromthe healthdegree gotthisquestionrightshowingthe
healthdegree studentshave more knowledge thanthe studentsfromthe non-healthdegree who
believethe amountof energyfromproteinshouldbe 35%.There were more studentsfromthe
healthdegree whoweren’tsure whatthe rightamountof proteinshouldbe inthe dietcompared
but onlyone studentfromthe non-healthdegree.Ithasbeensuggestedthatnutritional knowledge
maybe betterforthose studyingahealthrelateddegreewithresearchfromElhassanetal (2013)
comparedto studentsfroma non-healthdegree.

27. 4.7 What is the percentage of Fat someone shouldconsume a day?
Table 7 above
Table 7, showswhatpercentageof fatsthatthestudentsthoughtshould beconsumed daily. Mostof
the healthdegreestudentsthinkthatfat should be15% of whatsomeoneshould consumea day
while non-healthdegreestudentsthinkthatif should be 35% of total calories a day which the
recommended amount.
The seventhquestionaskedhowmuchfatshouldsomeone consumeaday.Accordingto Nutrition
Standardsagency(2007) the total amountof fat consumeddailyshouldbe around35%.Fat is
neededinourdietsbecause theyprovide highamountsof energy,theyabsorbandprovide fat
soluble vitaminssuchasA andD, and containessential fatswhichthe bodyisn’table tomake for
itself (BDA,2015. NHS, 2015). Theycontainmore energyat 9kcalsper gram comparedto proteinand
carbohydrateswhichcontain4kcalspergram and like proteinsandcarbohydratesif theyare not
usedas energy,itisstoredas fat,whichcausesweightgain(NHS,2015. BDA,2015).
From the graph itwouldappearthat more non-healthrelateddegree studentsgotthe answerright
for thisquestioncomparedtothe healthdegree students.Itisverysurprising,asmore health
relateddegree studentssaiditwere 15%percentcomparedtothe non-healthdegree students.
More studentssaidtheyweren’tsure whatpercentagefatshouldbe inthe dietcomparedtothe
healthdegree students.
The studentsfromthe healthdegree shouldbe more aware of the recommendationsforfatcontent
inthe diet,butbothgroupshad a lot sayingitshouldbe 15% whichisso little.Inrecentyearsthe
mediahashighlightedmajorpublichealthissuessuchasheartdisease,diabetesandobesity(NHS,
2015). Consideringthe healthimplicationsof dietswhichishighinfat,maybe itmightbe reasonable
to thinkthat fatintake shouldbe onan absolute minimumif theydidn’tknow the answeralready.

28. 4.8 How healthydo you feel your dietis right now?
Table 8 above
Table 8 shows howhealthy thestudentsfelttheir diet was.Half of the health degree studentsfeel
thattheir diets are notvery healthy,while thenon-health degreestudentsreporting a notvery
healthy diet is similar. More healthdegreestudentssay they are eating healthier than the non-health
degreestudents.
The ninthquestionaskedthe studentshow healthytheythinktheirdietsare rightnow.Itwould
appearthere isan equal amountof studentsfrombothgroups claimingtheirdietsare “very
healthy”withmore studentsfromthe healthdegree thanthe non-healthdegree claimingtheirdiets
are “healthy”.There seemstobe more studentsfromthe healthdegreeclaimingtheirdietsare “not
veryhealthy”.
It wouldseemthatthere isequal amountsof studentfrombothgroupsclaimingtheirdietsare on
the negative side of healthywhileone of the non-healthrelateddegree studentssaidtheywere not
sure whethertheirdietishealthy.ThissupportsChowberry’setal (2013) studywhichsuggestedthat
increasedknowledgedoesn’tmeanthe studentisgoingtohelptobenefitfrompositivechangesin
theirdiets.ThishelpssupportShah etal’s(2011) studywhichsays eatinghabitsreflectwhatthe
studentknowswithmore studentsonthe healthdegreethattheirdietsisonthe rightside of
healthy.

29. 4.9 What changes couldyou make to improve your diet?
Table 9 above
Table 9, asked whatchangescould there bemadeto improvetheir diets’. Morestudentsfromthe
healthdegree,they would haveto eat morefruit and vegetablesfortheir diets to becomehealthier
and eating less fat/fatty food.While themajority of non-health degreestudents,thoughteating less
fat/fatty foodsand eating betterqualityof foods,would improvetheirdiets.
The ninthquestionaskedwhatchangestheywouldmake toimprove theirdiets.Thisquestionthe
studentcan tickmore than one box for theiranswer.Thisshowsmostof the healthdegree students
feel like theyshouldbe eatingmore fruitandvegetablestoimprove theirdietswhile non-health
degree studentsfeel like theyneedtoeatlessfat/fattyfoodoreatbetter qualityfoods.
Thisbar chart wouldsuggestthe non-healthdegree studentsare eatingalotfattierandlessquality
foodsbuttheydon’tseemto thinkthateatingmore fruitand vegetableswouldimprovetheirdiet.
Since questiontwo,whenaskedhowmany portionsthe studentsate ona typical daymostof the
non-healthstudentswasreachingthe 5a dayrecommendations.Onthe otherhandthe students
fromthe healthdegree saidtheirdietswouldimproveif theyate more fruitandvegetableseven
thoughtheyclaimedtobe eatingmore portionsof fruitand vegetablesthanthe non-healthdegree
students.Thiscouldmean,theywouldwanttoeatmore fruitand vegetablestoreachtheir“5 a day”
to reach theirrecommendationssetbythe NHS(2015). This maybe because the secondquestion
asked“How muchfruitand vegetableswouldyoueatona typical day?”onlyone of the health
degree studentsate more thanthe recommended5portions.

30. 4.10. What is the main barrier to eating healthier?
Table 10 above
Table 10, asked thestudentswhatis the main barrier foreating healthier. The mostcommon answer
forthe healthdegree studentswere“I haveno problemeating healthy”while themostcommon
answerforthe non-healthdegreestudentssaid “Ihaven’tgotmuch will power”.
The tenthquestionaskedwhatthe mainbarrieristo eatinghealthier.Thisisaquestionwhere the
studentcan tickmore than one box for the questionwhichtheyfeel appliesforthem.Mostof the
studentsfromthe healthdegree have saidthey have noproblemeatinghealthywhile the other3
have saidtheyhave a busylife style.The crosssectional studybyAvramandOvravitan(2013)
identifiedlackof time andschool time table tobe a barrierfornot beingable toeat healthier. Half
of the studentsfromthe non-healthdegreehave saidtheyhaven’tgotmuchwill powerortheylack
cookingskillstoeathealthier.Noone frombothgroupshave said“I don’t know enoughabout
healthyeating”.
Howevernoone fromthe non-healthdegreehave said “Ihave noproblemeatinghealthy”which
impliesthattheymayhave some knowledge of healthyeatingbutnotapplyitforthemselves. Half
of the studentssaythey“Haven’tmuchwill power”andonly3 of the studentssay“theylackcooking
skills”.Thismeanstheycouldbene fitfrombeingtaughthow tocook so theycan eathealthierfor
themselves.

31. 4.11 Whatwould helpyou eat healthier?
Table 11 above
Table 11, asksthe studentswhatwould help themeathealthier. The majority of thenon-health
degreesaid better will powerand themajority of the health degreestudentssaid more time for
shopping and food preparation.Howevernotonestudentsaid they would benefitfrombetter
information and education.
The final questionaskedthe students,whatwouldhelpthemeathealthier?Thisagainisanother
questionwhere the studentcantickmore than one answer.
Most of the non-healthdegree studentshave saidtheywill need“betterwill power”andthe health
degree studentshave saidtheywouldneed“more time forshoppingandfoodpreparation”inorder
to eat healthier.
Researchto barriersintoeatinghealthierfromthe NHS(DATE) reportforthe national obesity
observatory,foundthe mostcommonanswertothe question“whatdifficultiesmightyouhave with
eatingmore healthily?”wasthe “price of healthyfoods”.Onlytwopeoplefromthe healthdegree
and one studentfromthe non-healthdegree saidif “healthierfoodbecomescheaper”itwouldhelp
eat healthily.
None of the studentsfrombothgroups have said theywouldneed“betterinformationand
education”implyingtheyalreadyknow how toeathealthy.Howeverinansweringthe previous
questions,eventhe healthdegree studentsgotsome of the questionswrongandcoulddowith
some educationandawarenessof healthyeating.

32. 4.12. Critical evaluationof the study
Lack of response rates
Questionnairesmaybe acheap,quickandeffective wayof collectingdata,butthe response rate is
low and unlessthe questionnairesare returnedtothe researcherafterthe questionsare fully
answeredthey have novalue (Walsh,2001. Descombe,2014).
The main difficultywas the lowresponse ratesforthisstudy. Walsh(2001) saysthat a sample of 30-
60 people wouldbe enoughtogenerate enoughdataforanalysis.Tobeginwiththere were 40
questionnairestobe handedoutevenlybetweenthe twogroups,whichaimedtogainaroundan
equal amountof studentsfrombothgroupsfor analysis.Inthe endthere only16 individuals
completedtheirquestionnaires.Thisdidn’tgenerate enoughdataforthe statisticsto be meaningful
(Walsh,2001). Thisstudywasgoingto lookat a relativelysmall sample of studentswouldn’treally
gainenoughnumbersto be generalizedacrossthe population(Ibid). Howeverthe opinionsof this
studycan be still be consideredrelevantasithelpconclude thatstudentsfromhealthrelated
degreeshadbetterinformationthanthe studentsonthe non-healthrelateddegree.
Researcher
The healthdegree studentsatthe college hadmore advantage with helpfromaresearchertofill out
the questionnaires.The researcher whichwas presentdidhelpthose whowere strugglingand co-
operated withhelpingthemfilloutthe questionnaire withoutbeingdirectly involvedwhichis
advisedbyDescombe (2014).
The questionnairesforthe non-healthdegree studentswere handedtoone of the college lecturers
to pass ontoanotherlecturerstohandout to the students.Thismeansaresearcherwasnot
available tohelpwiththe studentsanswerthe questionsonthe questionnaire,asitcanbe difficult
for people tocomplete the questionnaire.Thiscouldhave beenareasonforlow response rates,
because some of the questionscouldhave beenunderstoodforsome whowouldstruggle withouta
researcherbeingpresent(Walsh,2001).
Withouta researcheraroundthere couldbe a chance the studentsfromthe non-healthdegree
weren’ttoosure howto answerthe questions.Eventhoughsome of the questionsforinstance for
firstquestionwhichasked“Howmanyportionsof fruitandvegetablesare yousupposedtoeata
day?” didhave a box available totick“not sure”. The answersmayappearto the researchertobe
genuine butitmightappearthe studentcouldbe goingthrougha routine of just“tickingboxes”.
Numberof Questionson the Questionnaire
Anotherweaknessisthe amountof questionswhichwere askedinthe questionnaire.Walsh(2001)
saysthat 15-20 questionsshould be askedtoprovide amore adequate number. The riskof askingso
manyquestionsisthe studentsmayanswerthe questionsonthe questionnairesuperficiallyif it
wouldtake toolongto complete,soitneededtobe shortand simple andthereforaskingtoomany
questionswere avoidedforthisreason (Milne,nodate.Phellasetal,2011).

33. 5.0. Conclusion
Thisstudy suggeststhatthe healthrelateddegree studentshadmore knowledge onhealthyeating
comparedto the studentsstudyinganon-healthdegree.Thiscouldbe the factlearningabout
healthy eatingisn’tpartof theirfieldof study,whichthe healthdegree studentsitispartof their
fieldof study.Thisisveryfamiliartothe study by Azizi etal (2011) andElhassan et al (2011), where
the studentswhohadan increase knowledge of healthyeatingwere apartof theirfieldof study.
However,the “5 a day” campaignby the NHS iswell knownthroughall kindsof mediawhichhas
beensuccessful of raisingawarenessof how muchfruitandvegetablesshouldbe consumedona
dailybasis,thiscanexplainwhythe knowledgeof “5 a day” were nearlyevenlymatched. However
more studentsfromthe non-healthdegree weren’taware of how muchsalt were neededtobe
consumedminimallyperdaycomparedtothe studentsonthe healthdegree inthisstudy.
The studentsfromthe healthdegree atmore fruitand vegetablesandsome of the studentscame
close to eatingtowardsthe five portionswhichisrecommendedtoeatperday thanthe non-health
degree students. IthasbeensuggestedthroughShahetal’s (2011) studythatwhenstudentsstudya
course whichnutritionandhealthyeatingispartof theirfieldof study,itcouldmeanthattheyapply
the nutritional knowledge fortheirowndiets.The studyfoundon average thatthe healthrelated
course studentsate more fruitand vegetablesonaverage than the studentsstudyinganon-health
relatedcourse (Ibid).Thiscouldbe the reasonwhythe studentsfromhealthdegree ate more fruit
and vegetablescomparedtothe non-healthdegreestudents.
It wouldappearthat healthyeatingknowledgecouldhave positive impactonsomeone’sdietif it
were a part of theirfieldof study.Obviouslysomeone studyingfora degree whichisn’tgoingto
learnthe healthyeatingprinciples,whichcouldhelpthemeathealthierandpreventdiseasessuchas
obesity,diabetestype 2andcardiovasculardisease.
The governmentis now makingitmandatorythat childrenfrom Septemberof 2014, whichstudents
will be taughtcookingandnutritionwhichisbeentaughtinschoolsfromkeystages1-3
(Departmentof Education,2014). Thisis part of the government’slatestmovementtoreduce
obesityrateswhichiscostingthe NHS£6 billionayearto treat obesity andthe co-morbidities
(Esnor,2013. PublicHealthEngland,2016).
Obviouslythe students wouldn’tbenefitfromthisnew tactictoteach themthe healthynutrition
principlesandcookingskills since theyhave alreadyleft school atthispointintime.However
interventionsintoteachingnutritionandcookingskillshave beenaffective inteachingadults.City
Universityof London,researchedthe benefitof cookingsessionswithboth childrenandadults
withinthe Liverpool areawithaninterventioncalled“cancook”.The mainbenefitswhichwere
observedthatbothadultsandchildrenincreasedthe amountof fruitandvegetables,bettercooking
skillsandhelpbuildconfidence intohandlingandpreparingfood.
From whathas beendiscusseditisthe peoplewhohave more knowledgeonhealthyeatingwhether
it ispart of theirfieldof studyorotherwise are the oneslikethe healthdegree studentswhoseem
to applytheirknowledge fortheirowndietsandseemtobe eatinghealthierthanthose whoaren’t
aware. If there isno reasonfornutritionandhealthyeatingtobe part of theirfieldof study,they
won’tbe aware of howto eat healthyandmake theirownchoices.
An interventionsuchas“CanCook” couldpossiblybenefitfor those suchasthe non-healthdegree
studentsfromthisstudytolearnnutritionandcookingskillsasithas workedtoincrease fruitand

34. vegetable consumptioninadultsinLiverpool(Jenkins,2012). An interventionsuchasCanCook could
be prove beneficialforthose whoaren’taware of healthyeatingprinciplesandimpactof a bad diet
and learnto improve theirowndiets.Itisrecommendedthatsuchinterventionsshouldbe made
more available foradultstohelpimprove theireatinghabitsandreduce the risinglevelsof obesityin
the UnitedKingdom.

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http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/fish-shellfish.aspx(Accessed:1st
March 2016)
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http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/fish-shellfish.aspx (Accessed:3rd
March 2016).
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38. 7.0. Appendices
7.1. Research projecttutorial progress forms

44. 6.2. Consentform
To whomthismay concern,BradfordCollege Student.
My name isStephenCleaverandI am currentlyundertakingadissertationformydegree inSocial
NutritionandHealth.FormyresearchprojectI am goingto testwhethera healthbasedcollege
course studenthasmore knowledge of healthyeatingcomparedtoanon-healthrelatedcollege
Studentandwhetherthisknowledge isapplied.
I will give prioritytoyourinterestsatall times.Ipromise,youridentitywillbe protectedatall times.
You are free atany time to withdrawfromthe research,where uponIwill destroyall datarelating to
you.
I will make acopy of my researchreportavailable toyoupriorto itspublicationuponrequestbye-
mailingatcleavsteph@aol.com.Pleasesignanddate twocopiesof thisethicsform.Keepone copy
for yourfilesandreturnone copyto me.
I have readthis ethicsstatementandIagree to take part inthisresearch.
Your name………………………………. Date…………….

45. 7.3. Questionnaire usedfor the Pilot
1. How manyportionsof fruitand vegare yousupposedtoconsume eachday?
Please circle one answerbelow.
1 portion 2 portions 3 portions 4 portions 5 portions
2. How manyportionsof fruitand vegetableswouldyoueatona typical day?
Please circle youranswerbelow.
None 1 portion 2 portions 3 portions 4 portions 5 portions More than
5 portions
3. What isthe maximumamountof saltingrams shouldbe consumedinthe dailydiet?
1g 2g 3g 4g 5g 6g
4. How manyPortionsof oilyFishshouldthere be inthe dietperweek?
Please circle youranswerbelow?
1 Portion 2 portions 3 portions 4 portions 5 portions
5. What isthe percentage of carbohydratessomeone shouldconsume aday?
Please circle the answerbelow
15% 30% 50%
6. What isthe percentage of proteinsomeone shouldconsume aday?
Please circle the answerbelow
15% 30% 50%
7. What isthe percentage of fatssomeone shouldconsume aday?
Please circle the answerbelow
15% 30% 50%
8. How healthydoyoufeel yourdietisrightnow?
Please circle one of the answersbelow.
VeryHealthy Healthy NotveryHealthy NotHealthyat
all
Notsure
9. What changescouldyoumake to improve yourdiet?
Please circle one ormore whichyouthinkappliestoyou.

46. Eat more
fruit
Eat more
vegetables
Eat less
fat/fatty
food
Eat
regularly/cut
downon
snacking
Eat
better
qualityof
foods
Eat more
fresh
food
Eat lesssugar/
sugaryfoods
Eat
less
salty
foods
10. What isthe mainbarrieryoucan thinkof that preventsyoufromeatinghealthier?
Please circle one more thatappliestoyou.
I don't wantto
give upfoods
that I like.
I haven’tmuchwill
power
I am not
botheredabout
changingmy
habits
I have no
problemeating
healthy
I have a busy
lifestyle
I don't knowenoughabout
healthyeating
I lack Cookingskills Other– please write
your answerhere:
11. What wouldhelpyoueathealthier?
Please circle one ormore that wouldapplytoyou
Betterwill Power/Self
Discipline.
Betterinformationand
educationaboutfoodand
healthyeating.
More time forshopping
and foodpreparation.
To improve yourownhealth Motivation/Enthusiasm Supportand
encouragementof
otherssuch as family,
friendsora professional
Healthierfoodbecomes
cheaperinplacessuchas
supermarkets,college cafeteria
and etc.
Other– please answerhere.

47. 7.4. Re-adjustedquestionnaire usedformain study
1. How manyportionsof fruitand vegare yousupposedtoconsume eachday?
Please circle one answerbelow.
1 portion 2 portions 3 portions 4 portions 5 portions
2. How manyportionsof fruitand vegetableswouldyoueatona typical day?
Please circle youranswerbelow.
None 1 portion 2 portions 3 portions 4 portions 5 portions More than
5 portions
3. What isthe maximumamountof saltingrams shouldbe consumedinthe dailydiet?
1g 2g 3g 4g 5g 6g NotSure
4. How manyPortionsof oilyFishshouldthere be inthe dietperweek?
Please circle youranswerbelow?
5. What isthe percentage of carbohydratessomeone shouldconsume aday?
Please circle the answerbelow
15% 30% 50% Notsure
6. What isthe percentage of proteinsomeone shouldconsume aday?
Please circle the answerbelow
15% 30% 50% Notsure
7. What isthe percentage of fatssomeone shouldconsume aday?
Please circle the answerbelow
15% 30% 50% Notsure
8. How healthydoyoufeel yourdietisrightnow?
Please circle one of the answersbelow.
VeryHealthy Healthy Notvery Healthy NotHealthyat
all
Notsure
9. What changescouldyoumake to improve yourdiet?
Please circle one ormore whichyouthinkappliestoyou.

48. Eat more
fruit
Eat more
vegetables
Eat less
fat/fatty
food
Eat
regularly/cut
downon
snacking
Eat
better
qualityof
foods
Eat more
fresh
food
Eat lesssugar/
sugaryfoods
Eat
less
salty
foods
10. What isthe mainbarrieryoucan thinkof that preventsyoufromeatinghealthier?
Please circle one more thatappliestoyou.
I don't wantto
give upfoods
that I like.
I haven’tmuchwill
power
I am not
botheredabout
changingmy
habits
I have no
problemeating
healthy
I have a busy
lifestyle
I don't knowenoughabout
healthyeating
I lack Cookingskills Other– please write
your answerhere:
11. What wouldhelp youeathealthier?
Please circle one ormore that wouldapplytoyou
Betterwill Power/Self
Discipline.
Betterinformationand
educationaboutfoodand
healthyeating.
More time forshopping
and foodpreparation.
To improve yourownhealth Motivation/Enthusiasm Supportand
encouragementof
otherssuch as family,
friendsora professional
Healthierfoodbecomes
cheaperinplacessuchas
supermarkets,college cafeteria
and etc.
Other– please answerhere.