Factors Related to Thai Fast-Food Consumption among the Healthcare Undergraduate Students in Thailand
Keywords:
Thai fast-food, theory of planned behavior, adolescent health, consumption behaviorAbstract
Fast-food consumption behavior represented a significant health-related issue, particularly among adolescents. Contemporary research on Thai fast-food and its health implications remained remarkably limited.This study aimed to assess the behavior of Thai fast-food consumption and analyze the factors related to Thai fast-food consumption in the healthcare undergraduate students. The sample consisted of 295 undergraduate students from a public health college in Thailand during the 2023 academic year, selected through multi-stage random sampling. Data collection was conducted using a questionnaire that underwent content validity testing by three experts and reliability testing, yielding Cronbach’s alpha coefficients between 0.71 and 0.91. The data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation (SD), median, maximum, minimum, and chi-square tests at a 95% confidence interval (CI). The study found that the majority of participants exhibited a moderate level of Thai fast-food consumption behavior (58.65%). Factors related to Thai fast-food consumption included body mass index (BMI) and the study program (p = 0.022 and 0.008, respectively). According to the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), all five aspects: intention (OR=0.252, 95%CI=0.19 - 0.34), attitude (OR=0.107,95%CI=0.02 - 0.47), subjective norms (OR=0.147,95%CI= 0.09 - 0.25), perceived behavioral control (OR=0.360 95%CI=0.28 - 0.47), and actual behavioral control (OR=0.517,95%CI=0.40 - 0.67) were significantly related to Thai fast-food consumption behavior (p<0.001). This study found that most healthcare undergraduate students showed moderate to good Thai fast-food consumption behaviors, but low to moderate understanding of the concept. Future research should focus on identifying clearer causal relationships and behavioral patterns in Thai fast-food consumption in the mass population for future monitoring.
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