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Runnig Head: Obesity Versus Fast Food Calories Consumed 1

Obesity Versus Fast Food Calories Consumed

Mina Attallah

Kean University

Submitted to Bridget Lepore on 12/17/13 for GE 2026 _01

Obesity Versus Fast Food Calories Consumed 2

Abstract

This study looks at calories consumed versus how many times a person has eaten out in

the weeks preceding this study. The results indicated that there had been a correlation

between the two which amount to.437, which is a positive correlation. This study

included thirty five participants of whom eleven were male and twenty three were female.

The average age of those asked to complete the survey was twenty-one years old. The

study also indicated that the more people ate out, the more likely they were to consume

higher amounts of caloric foods that were more likely to lead to more eating disorders

and serious health complications.

Problem Statement

Obesity is defined as being extremely overweight or having body fat that is outside the

norm for a specifics persons weight and height. Obesity is linked to a number of health

conditions such as Glaucoma, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure etc… This study will look

at calories consumed versus how many times a person has eaten out in the weeks leading

up to the completion of the study.


Literature Review

Obesity is one of the leading health concerns being faced by American people today.

Obesity is defined as being overweight with more body fat than is considered normal for

a persons weight and height. Body Mass Index (BMI) is a calculation of weight and

height to determine if a person’s weight is healthy. as long as you know your weight and

height. Convert your height to inches and square that number. Next divide your weight

by the number you previously calculated and then multiply that number by 703. When

receiving the number, judge it against a BMI scale to determine whether it is healthy or

not.

Obesity levels and BMI’s are completely different among adults and children. Adults

have a rougher scale that judges their obesity levels than that of children. BMI range

varies between adults an.The average height for an American male is 69.3 inches while

the average for a female is 63.8 inches. The average weight of an American male is 195.5

pounds compared to a female, which is 166.2 pounds. When it comes to waist

circumference, men and women differ by a small amount. Typically men above the age

of twenty years old have a waist circumference of 39.7 inches while women are typically

2.2 inches less than that of males. This would bring a woman’s waist circumference to

37.5 inches. (CDC, 2012) .As proven in recent years, males tend to have a higher BMI

rate than that of females. In a study conducted by the CDC, thirty four hundred twenty

three participants between the ages of twenty up were surveyed and asked to answer a

series of questions. In the study, with both males and females studied, males tended to

have a higher obesity rate that correlated to that of a higher BMI rate. Some of the

questions/ tests conducted/asked were use of medicine, history of diseases, race and

Bridget Lepore, 11/21/13,

Use a better definition


Instead of this example, use the AVERAGE height of an American… and cite the weight ranges for them (both for males/females)


New paragraph due to new idea


Don’t make judgement! Just explain


Explain this better


ethnic background. The results found that men had a higher waist circumference rate of

an excess of forty centimeters. Compared to that of women, which was signicfanctly less

that thirty-five centimeters. Surprisingly, the study found that women had a higher

cholesterol rate than that of men even though they had consumed less than what a man

typically consumes (CDC, 2013). The study also found that among the racial and ethnic

groups tested, whites typically had a much higher rate than that of Mexicans and African

Americans who had participated in the study. Young adults who were younger than the

age of twenty five had scored better on these questions than their adult counterparts since

children had a much higher metabolism rate and burned off an excess of weight more

quickly than that of adults( (CDC, 2013)

In America, obesity levels are on the rise. The CDC has found more than one third of the

American population, which amounts to 35.7% of U.S. adults are considered obese

(CDC, 2013).The percentage levels between males and females vary greatly. IN a study

conducted between the years of 1999-2004 by JAMA, 32.2% of adults were found to be

obese. The levels for children had shown to be on the rise. In 1999 the percentage for

adolescents (male and female children) was at 13.8%. Over the next five years, that

percentage rose to an alarming 16.0% in 2003-2004. Adult men had the greatest increase

in percentage rates. For men in the years 1999-2000 the percentage was at a 27.5% and

increased to 31.1% in 2003-2004. In 1999, male children were at a staggering rate of 14.0

%. This had risen to 18.2% by the year of 2004. Females were shown to have the least

percentage increase. For female adults in 1999, the percentage of the people surveyed

was at 33.4%. In the years of 2003-2004 the percentage went down to 33.2%. This had

amounted to the children being surveyed in 2003-2004 to 17.1% of children (male and


Avoid quotations!


female) being considered obese. For adults the average for both males and females was at

32.2%. (JAMA, 2006)

Obesity does not only affect males but also females. When the CDC conducted a

study between the years of 2006- 2008, the results indicated that obesity levels vary by

gender, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. They study took place within every

state and the results were pretty much the same across the board. Most of the states

indicated that blacks had the highest prevalence of obesity levels in the country. This was

next to Hispanics, followed by whites. The results came mostly from southern states

because as proven in the study, the more north a person lives, the more in shape they tend

to be. The study also indicated that in the Midwest and the South had the highest

prevalence for obesity levels. The highest levels were among Non-Hispanic Blacks and

Whites found in this area. Hispanics that lived in the northeast corridor of the country

were found to have lower obesity rates as compared to those living in the Midwest and

Southern States. (CDC, 2010)

Among blacks tested in forty five states and Washington DC, the percentage of

obesity ranged from 23.00% - 45.10% with forty states having an obesity prevalence of

less than or equal to 30.00%. This includes five states that had a prevalence level of less

than or equal to 40.00%. Among Hispanics in the fifty states and Washington DC, the

prevalence level of obesity ranged from 21.00% - 36.70%, with eleven states having a

prevalence level of less than or equal to 30.00 %. Among whites tested in the fifty states

and Washington DC, the percentage level ranged from 9.0% - 30.20% with one state

having a prevalence level of less than or equal to 30.00%. Of the fifty states tested only

five, had an obesity prevalence of greater than 20.00% (CDC, 2010).


There are so many reasons as to why obesity levels vary among people of

different genders. Among the top three are: racial and ethnic groups differ in behaviors

that contribute to weight gain. The second being that there may differences between

individual attitudes and cultural norms related to body weight. The last being there are

differences in regards to access to different affordable, healthful foods and safe locations

to be physically active (CDC, 2010). Obesity levels are also dependent upon one other

crucial factor. That is socioeconomic status. Socioeconomic Status is the social standing

or class of an individual or a group. It can be measured by income levels, education

levels, and occupation as defined by the American Psychological Association.

In all the states tested by the CDC, the study indicated that socioeconomic status

had played a signicifacant role in how obesity levels were distributed. Another study as

conducted by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and reported to the

CDC between the years of 2005-2008 found that those low income individuals such as

children and adolescents were more likely to be considered obese. As proven with the

findings, this does not hold true for different races and cultures. As a matter of fact, most

obese children are not considered to be living within the poverty level. The study

indicated that those with college educations as the head of the head of the house hold

were less likely to be considered obese compared with other households and had lesser

education. This however, does not hold true across race and ethnic groups. Between the

years of 1988 -1994, and 2007- 2008, the prevalence of childhood obesity increased at all

income and education levels.

As students make the transition from high school to college , most if not all of the

students become aware of the term “Freshman 15”. Freshman15 is a term used in the


United States to refer to the amount of weight a typical college freshman will gain come

the end of their freshman year of college. Of the two hundred forty subjects tested

between the fall semester of 2007 through the spring semester of 2008 , one hundred

forty one of which were females and seventy three were males. Not only were the

participants tested in weight, but were also tested in waist circumference and where they

would fall on a BMI chart. This study indicated that weight gain is a serious problem for

college students of which only five percent are affected by the freshman 15. Another

indication the study revealed that not only have the participants revealed to gain weight

but also loose weight as well. This had amounted to more than 31% of particpants lost a

greater or equal to of five pounds. The mean weight gain for all tested in the study was

2.6 pounds. Of all the students tested, those who had gained weight in the sample, was six

or more pounds while the body fat of those tested had increased by 4.4 in those who had

actually gained weight. Many if not all of the students in the sample tested, had

mentioned that they believe they had gained weight because of stress, lack of sleep and

exercising habits. Another major factor was the eating habits of college students. Because

college students prioritize their life , their weight often comes second to that of friends,

family work and even school (Sareen S. Gropper, et al., 2009).

With all the stresses college students are facing, many students don’t have time to

worry about how their eating will affect their lives. Because many students are only

concerned with how well they do in classes, they tend to forget that the way they eat

affects tem internally and can have long standing effects on the body. Such long-term

effects include eating disorders. Eating disorders are abnormalities in a persons eating

habits that occur in people of varying ranges/ages that can detrimental affects on a


person’s short term and long term health. Some common types of eating disorders

include bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, binge eating… Although most of them have

completely different affects on the body, the one thing they do have in common is that

these disorders will eventually harm the body to the point where the body cannot

maintain homeostasis within itself. (OWH, 2010).


Method

Kean University, located in Union NJ, with Satellite campuses in Toms River NJ as well as

Wenzhou China is a public 4 year university that offers Bachelors, Masters Degrees and

Doctorates. As of Fall 2012, the total enrollement of students was at 15391. Kean University

offers 48 undergraduate programs of study at which students excel. For the graduating class of

2012, a total of 2608 Bachelors degrees were conferred upon the graduates. The total number of

Masters Degrees conferred upon graduates was 762 while the total amount of doctorate degrees

conferred was a total of 9.

Kean University is known for its diversity and in fact was recognized by USNEWS as one of the

most diverse campuses in the United States with a diversity index of .63. As of the Fall 2012

enrollment statistics 36.9% of students were male which amounted to 5683 students. 63.1% is

the percentage for females enrolled in 2012 which amounts to 9708 students. In terms of

race/ethnicity in Fall 2012 17.9% of students were identified as Black which amounts to 2759

suduents.21.2% of students were identified as Hispanic which amounts to 3269 students. 6.0% of

students were identified as Asian/AI/AN/PI which amounts to 900 students. 40.9% of students

had identified themselves as white which amounts to 6295 students. 0.9% of the students of the

campus identified themselves as being multiracial which amounted to145 students. 2005 students

did not wish to partake in this study identifying their races which amounted to13.0% of the

campus community.

For this study, students will be observed over the course of three days by what they will

consume. With all that the students consume, they will be asked how many calories they believe

they are consuming to how many meals they eat a day. This study will take place in the


University Cafeteria where a majority of the students have lunch and buy food.it will also take

place around lunch time, 12:00 pm when most students will be eating or out and about. This will

be done by asking /observing students to take a picture of what they eat and how many calories

they believe are being digested on a regular basis. After Data has been collected, it will be

analyzed via an Excel Spreadsheet. Data collected will be stored in an Excel Spreadsheet. All

paper copies will be held for four months and then destroyed with the electronic copy being held

for two years. All data will be analyzed using Microsoft Excel.

Results

The primary purpose of this study was to find out if calories consumed versus how many times a

person ate out in a week went hand in hand. The study had yielded thirty-five participants in


which eleven of them had been males while the remaining twenty-three were female. The males

had amounted to thirty two percent surveyed while the females had amounted to sixty eight

percent of participants. The average age of all the participants asked to complete the survey was

twenty years of age with only one participant being above forty years old. After all the data had

been compiled and analyzed, the results have indicated a very weak correlation between calories

consumed versus how many times people ate out. This came out to be a .437, which indicates

that there is a very weak chance that the two tested have anything to do with the other. Other

results that have stemmed from this study indicated that people have admitted to eating some

type of fast food more than once in the weeks preceding this survey. The results from this

calculation indicated that the average times the thirty five participants ate out in just one week

was 1.42, while the most was more than ten times a week. Because of the amount of times the

students have eaten out the average weight came to be one hundred fifty four pounds. For all

those asked to complete the survey, thirty six percent had indicated that McDonalds had to be

there place to dine while Dunkin Donuts came in at nine percent and Burger King came in at

whopping twenty seven percent. It is safe to say for the purpose of this study, that most college

students favored McDonalds over leading competitors. After all the data had come in, it is very

hard to say that the results that came from this study will one day mimic a survey in which a

larger sample size was tested. For those tested in this study, fifty five percent of participants

agreed that the reason they eat out is because it is convenient, fifteen percent agreed it is because

it is affordable while only thirty percent agreed that it was another reason other than the two

listed before. IN this instance, it is safe to assume that when the participants had completed the

study, selecting “ other” meant they had another reason for eating out. The primary reason for

choosing other was because it was both convenient and affordable, or that they were to lazy to


make a healthy home cooked meal. The study had actually revealed that the less times people ate

out, the more likely they were to consume more calories as opposed to the people that ate out ten

times a week and consumed the same if not less amount of calories than those who ate out less

then five times a week.

0 2 4 6 8 10 120

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

Times eaten out in the past week

calo

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onsu

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Conclusion


The purpose of this study was to find out if calories consumed versus how many times a person

ate out in one week went hand in hand. Although this was not the original purpose of the study,

this seemed a better answer to give than the original hypothesis. The researcher had predicted

something completely different but after polling the answers from Qualtrics online survey

software another correlation was completed based on the information gathered form the results.

Although the results have yielded similar if not at all different results from the Literature

Review, it is safe to say that for the purpose of this study and all those that had participated in the

study, its safe to say that for college students averaging about twenty one years of age,

most of them will continue to eat fast foods because it s convenient and most of all affordable as

most students are looking to stretch a dollar.

As with any research study, there will always be limitations to what the researcher can do and

ask. The limitations with this study was that there had been an extremely small sample size so it

is hard to generalize for the public that had not taken the survey associated with this study as this

was conducted over a time limit of three days with students in the Kean University University

Center Cafeteria. Some future steps that could come about as a result from this study is that there

will always be studies that go further in-depth and ask questions that really pertain to the point at

hand. As a result of this study, it is the researchers firm belief that more healthy options should

be given to students and professionals alike so that they don’t make bad eating choices later in

life when those choices really matter.



Bibliography

CDC. (2010, April 5). Compared with whites, Blacks had 51% higher and Hispanics had 21%

higher obesity rates. Retrieved November 13, 2013, from Centerfor Disease Control and

Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/dsObesityAdults/

CDC. (2012, November 2). Body Measurements. Retrieved October 29, 2013, from Center for

Disease Control and Preventiom: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/bodymeas.htm

CDC. (2012, April 27). Overweight and Obesity. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/defining.html

CDC. (2013, August 16). Overweight and Obesity. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from Center for

Disease Control and Prevention : http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

JAMA. (2006, April 5). Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in the United States, 1999-2004 .

Retrieved November 12, 2013, from Journal of the American Medical Association:

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=202627#Abstract

OWH. (2010, September 22). Body Image . Retrieved November 19, 2013, from womenshealth:

http://www.womenshealth.gov/body-image/eating-disorders/

R. Bethene Ervin, P. R. (2009, May 5). National Health Statistics Reports. Retrieved October 28,

2013, from CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr013.pdf

Sareen S. Gropper, P., Karla P. Simmons, P., Alisha Gaines, M., Kelly Drawdy, M., Desiree

Saunders, M., Pamela Ulrich, P., et al. (2009). The Freshman 15—A Closer Look.

Journal of American College Health, 58(3), 1,8,.

wikihow contributers. (-, - -). How to Calculate Your Body Mass Index ( BMI). Retrieved 10 28,

2013, from Wikihow: http://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-Your-Body-Mass-Index-

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