ASSESSMENT OF EARLY ADOLESCENTS EATING HABITS THROUGH SELECTED FACTORS INFLUENCING FOOD CHOICES

JANKULOSKA, Vezirka and BOJOSKA, Jasminka and NIKOLOVSKA NEDELKOSKA, Daniela and KALEVSKA, Tatjana (2025) ASSESSMENT OF EARLY ADOLESCENTS EATING HABITS THROUGH SELECTED FACTORS INFLUENCING FOOD CHOICES. International Journal of Food Technology and Nutrition, 8 (15-16). pp. 81-92. ISSN 2671-3071

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Abstract

Adolescents from 12 to 15 years of age from three elementary schools in Gostivar are included in this research. The purpose of this research was to assess the eating habits of adolescents, to perceive the real current state of food knowledge among adolescents from the 6th to the 9th grade (total 593). We also assessed the lifestyle of the adolescents, looking from a nutritional point of view, and determined the most significant factors that influence food choice, the formation and/or change of eating habits among these participants, and the possible occurrence of obesity and/or malnutrition and their prevention. For the purposes of this research, a survey questionnaire was prepared and available in three languages (Macedonian, Albanian and Turkish), which included questions related to the socio-demographic characteristics of the adolescents, further, how much knowledge the adolescents have about food and questions about their lifestyle with the representation and frequency of physical activity. After the statistical processing of the data, it was observed that the greatest influence on increased body mass among adolescents is gender (p = 0.002), age (p = 0.002), the number of members in the family (p = 0.05). The results show that there is no statistical significance between BMI and physical activity, frequency (p=0.145) and duration (p=0.131) and time spent in front of TV screens and computers (p=0.686). The results also showed us that the majority of adolescents know the basic nutrients and their presence in food, but we still recommend that schools start regular education from an early age in order to encourage a higher level of awareness about proper and healthy nutrition.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	BMI, adolescent food choice, eating habits, nutrition, adolescent lifestyle
Subjects:	Q Science > Q Science (General)
Divisions:	Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Unnamed user with email zshi@unite.edu.mk
Date Deposited:	23 Dec 2025 10:49
Last Modified:	23 Dec 2025 10:49
URI:	http://eprints.unite.edu.mk/id/eprint/2205

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