Research Proposal: Fast Food, Obesity, and Tertiary Students in AU

This research proposal investigates the correlation between fast food consumption and obesity rates among tertiary students in Australia. It aims to analyze this relationship, identify associated problems, and propose recommendations for mitigation. The study will employ both primary and secondary data analysis methods to gain a comprehensive understanding. It examines various theories related to obesity, emphasizing the role of fast food in these theories. The proposal also addresses the impact of obesity on tertiary students' lives and suggests potential remedies. The research methodology includes a detailed sampling design and ethical considerations. Ultimately, the study seeks to validate the link between fast food and obesity through rigorous research methods, contributing to a better understanding of this health issue among students.

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Notes

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Project Summary
The research analysis here suggests the relation between fast food consumption and the
obesity in the lives of the tertiary students in the province of Australia. The aim of the study
is to formulate and establish the relationship between the two factors and state the
implications using a detailed analytical method. Both primary and secondary methods of data
analysis is to be used to have an analytical overview of the whole matter. The analysis
categorises the theories for the form of obesity and also established the importance of fast
food on the theories in the prolonged matter. The problems related to the obesity issues
including the remedies and recommendations for the theories are to be considered which has
an ample account to the overall analysis. The research also has tremendous access to the
different methodologies and sample size observations that are there in the study which deals
with the study in the prolonged manner. The aims and objectives of the study is basically
based on the relation between the fast food consumption and obesity rate which again has
been indicated by the use of various variables. The validation of the statement is also being
done based on the different research methods and therefore, the overall research is a
combined project which has been done with detailed analytical means.

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction........................................................................................................................3
1.1 Background of the study..............................................................................................3
1.2 Study Aim....................................................................................................................3
1.3 Study goals and objective.............................................................................................3
1.4 Study Question.............................................................................................................3
1.5 Significance of the research.........................................................................................4
2. Literature Review...............................................................................................................5
2.1 Fast food types and nutritional value...........................................................................5
2.2 Obesity and the various diseases related to it...............................................................6
2.3 Does obesity and fast food have any relation?.............................................................7
2.4 Theories related to the problem of obesity...................................................................8
2.5 Effects of obesity on the life of the tertiary students.................................................10
2.6 Recommendations for the overcoming the obesity related issues.............................10
3. Methodology....................................................................................................................12
3.1 Research Design.........................................................................................................12
3.2 Research Method........................................................................................................12
3.3 Sampling Design........................................................................................................12
3.4 Sampling size calculation...........................................................................................12
3.5 Data analysis..............................................................................................................12
3.6 Ethical consideration..................................................................................................13
3.7 Study limitations........................................................................................................13

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4. Study Impact....................................................................................................................14
5. Project Management Arrangements.................................................................................15
4. Reference..........................................................................................................................16

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1. Introduction
1.1 Background of the study
Laake, Haakon and Olsen, (2015) states that Obesity is defined as the state of the
human physical condition in which the person is overweight and fat hampering their physical
and mental balance in some way or the other. In the modern world due to the immense
pressure from work and sedentary lifestyle, the whole act of having healthy food has gone for
a toss and has involved the consumption of more fast food and less amount of nutrition rich
food that will be beneficial to the body and mind (Patel et al. 2018). The tertiary group of
students which are the students that belong to the post school category are the main
consuming customers of fast food genre and which means that the impact of the fast food is
very stringent on the lives of the people who consume a lot of fast food in the genre time.
1.2 Study Aim
The aim for this research proposal is to analyse and evaluate the relation between fast
food consumption and the rate of obesity related health issues among the tertiary students.
The research also aims to analyse the probable problems related to obesity and also
recommendations for eliminating those issues.
1.3 Study goals and objective
 To analyse the relation between the fast food consumption and obesity issues among
the students of the tertiary group.
 To analyse the probable problems that is related to obesity and fast food consumption
 To analyse the recommendations for the elimination of the problems in tertiary
students.

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1.4 Study Question
 Is there an association between fast food consumption and obesity among
tertiary students?
 What are the probable problems that the obesity related to fast food results in
the students?
 What are the probable recommendations for mitigating the problems relating to
obesity in the tertiary students?
1.5 Significance of the research
Obesity is one of the major concerns of the modern time as all the people including
the students lead a very sedentary lifestyle in the time when outdoor games and peer pressure
have occupied a major portion in the part and parcel of the whole span. The research here is
signifying the effect of obesity of the life of the people involved in the sedentary lifestyle and
also to the fact that the effect of fast food on the life of the students who are there in the post
school department (Patel et al. 2018). The significance of the research is therefore many and
contributes to overall health of tertiary students.

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2. Literature Review
2.1 Fast food types and nutritional value
Robertson and Williams, (2009) states that fast food is nothing but the junk food that
is available in the market which are made of all the unwanted and calorie content and bad for
the health substances that can affect the health of the people, especially of the modern world
in a matter of ways. The fast food industry is booming at a rapid pace due to the vast
popularity of the fast or junk food among the youths of the nation and on the global sphere
resulting in a number of diseases including obesity at a preliminary stages of life (Robertson
& Williams, 2009). The fast food is a non-nutrient rich food item variation that contain more
amount of calorie and sugar content which is absolutely gross for the health. The content of
fast food is either rich in fat or fatty acids and cholesterol which is bad for the health in the
longer span of time.
Though the taste of fast food is well which attracts a large number of people
especially from the youth genre, the overall analysis of the fast food in terms of nutritional
value can be done which reveals that the fast food content is not needed by the health in any
matter. Kurdaningsih, Sudargo and Lusmilasari, (2017) states that the percentage of nutrition
in fast is negligible and is only full with calories and other bad materials.

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Image – Fast food nutritional facts
(Source – Apovian et al. 2013)
The image shows the amount of calories and other types of nutritional contents of the
fast food with the high amount of sugar and salt content in each of the items which provide
only taste to the item minus any amount of nutritional benefits.
2.2 Obesity and the various diseases related to it
Obesity is an issue that has a global presence and affects the people from all age and
sex. Recently, Apovian et al. (2013) states that due to the extreme sedentary lifestyle of the
people working in a corporate sector and even the students who are in their tertiary mode of
education, the problem of obesity has made immense problems and led to the rise to a
number of diseases in the long phase. The diseases that is being related to the problem of
obesity can be stated as high blood pressure, stroke, cancer, diabetes and even stones of gall
bladder. Zhao et al. (2017) states that the locomotion problem is one of the major issues that

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are there in the matters of obesity which is one of the major results of the tremendous amount
of fast food consumption.
Fast food is one of the probable causes for the lack of good nutritional value in the life
of the students who are working or having a sedentary lifestyle (Zhao et al. 2017). Due to the
vast availability of the food items as well as the readymade nature of the fast food, it has
become one of the most important in the case relating to the increasing health issues
including the obese nature.
2.3 Does obesity and fast food have any relation?
Considering the amount of tertiary students in the province of Australia who are
getting obese due to the increasing amount of bad habits including bad food habits like lack
of nutrition and increasing fast food habit straight away implement that the fast food eating
habits and obesity does have a strong connection which hamper the active and healthy
lifestyle in a number of ways (Lee, 2012).
Image – Number of people obese in Australia in ages
(Source – Apovian et al. 2013 )
The image above clearly indicates the huge number of people who are obese in the
province of Australia who are in their tertiary education mode and are obese due to the bad
lifestyle habits followed by them. The age group of 16-17 as stated in the image is the age

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when the students leave the school and tertiary form of education begins making the obese
rate as high as 48% which is at a high risk zone according to the World Health Organization
(Apovian et al. 2013).
Image – Increasing amount of fast food consumption in Australia
(Source – Zhao et al. 2017)
The above image shows the high and increasing amount of the fast food consumption
in the Australian country which accounts for the high rate of obesity that is prevalent among
the people especially among the tertiary group of students who are the main consumers of
fast food in the country (Zhao et al. 2017).
Analysing the trends and the figures of the fast food consumption along with the
increasing number of obesity cases among the students, it can be blatantly stated that there is
a relation between fast food consumption and obesity in Australia (Grimes et al. 2013).
2.4 Theories related to the problem of obesity
Obesity being a global issues in the sector of healthcare for a number of people, a
number of theories have been formulated to have an extensive overview about the cause and

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the analysis of the cause which will ultimately lead to the mitigation of the problem. The
three theories relating to the problem of obesity are as follows –
 The Three Bear Theory – The amount of interest in eating and food is the source
and base of the three bear theory which is one of the most popular theories regarding
the concept of obesity. Alberga et al. (2012) states that the likeliness for a person to
eat and not understanding the amount of overeating due to various emotional factors
like stress and loneliness is one of the major facts for the obesity theory. The fast food
is one of the food items that is consumed by the people who love to eat the
deliciousness from outside contributing to the various emotional factors for the stress
factor and also to combat stress and other arenas (Grimes et al. 2013).
 The Pica Theory – According to the Pica Theory, the imbalance of nutrients lead to
the obesity in the lives of the people in the prolonged time area. The synthesis of food
nutrition is not present in the fast food which has negligible nutrition values
contributing the rise in weight and obese condition of the people in the span of the
time. Sobol‐Goldberg, Rabinowitz and Gross, (2013) states that the quantity of the
food consumed is great with no or limited quality contributing to the obesity of the
people in the span of time.
 The Fat Stat Theory – The amount of fat that a particular human being is bound to
accumulate and sustain due to the certain mechanism in the body of the humans is
determined by the hypothetical standpoint of genetic and the environmental issues set
by them. Brand-Miller and Barclay, (2017) states that the overall analysis of the fact
lies in the fact that the fast food has immense amount of fat in its whole composition
leading to the amount of greater fat accumulation in the arena. In addition, Frank
(2012) states that the overall fat stat theory makes sure that the overall analysis of the
fast food is done based on the amount of fat that is present in the fast food items.

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2.5 Effects of obesity on the life of the tertiary students
The increase in the number of students who are suffering from the problem of obesity
has touched the risky figure of nearly 30% in the province of Australia majority of which
being the cause of obesity and other types of health problems due to the immense intake of
fast food items (Morley et al., 2012). Due to the non-existent nature of nutrients in the
contents of fast food, the effects on the health and overly habits of the tertiary students are
dangerous –
 Poor academic performance is one of the major effects that is there due to the obesity.
Frank (2012) states that the tertiary students are the future of the country who will be
making their future, however, obesity loses their interest in the means of the academic
nature and makes them lethargic and prone to diseases.
 The cognitive skills of the students are another major factors that leads to the loss of
the skills of the students due to the rapid increase in the fast food intake in the lives of
the people and their obese nature. Taylor (2015) states that the obese teenagers who
are in their tertiary education span have little interest in their mental development and
are interested only in the consumption habits.
 The BMI rate being high for the students who are in their tertiary phase have little or
no interest in the outdoor activities due to lethargic and obese means making them
less prone to the social life that a tertiary student should have in respect to their career
(Dunn, Sharkey & Horel, 2012).

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2.6 Recommendations for the overcoming the obesity related
issues
 One of the major recommendation is to substitute the fast food with nutrition-rich
food to make the students better prepared for their upcoming lives and activities.
 Seminars and discussions can be done with the students to make them understand
about the health hazards of fast food and their relation to the obesity.
 The third recommendation is to include more healthy food option in the college and
school campus to help them choose the one better for their needs and lives and help
them to have better food habits for the future generation.

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3. Methodology
3.1 Research Design
Hsieh, J. (2016) states that Research Design is defined as the way in which the
research on a particular topic is being done. In the analysis of the method, the exploratory
form of research design will be followed with the set theories to find out the relation between
obesity and fast food in Australia. The designs relating to cohort, case control, cross sectional
analysis, experimental and ecological analysis will also be done (Song and Chung, 2010).
3.2 Research Method
Both primary and secondary qualitative and quantitative modes of analysis will be
used in the analysis as the students are being questioned and seminars have been done in the
primary ways. The secondary data relating to the overall overview will also be created
(Jackson, 2011).
3.3 Sampling Design
The random cluster sampling method will be chosen which identifies with the student
population in the given sample to conduct the research. The sample will be the set of tertiary
students.
3.4 Sampling size calculation
The sample size taken for the analysis will be 50 students who are there in the tertiary
students section.
3.5 Data analysis
The data analysis will be done using the mixed methods of analysis where both
qualitative and quantitative data will be used for making sure about the research method that
is being implemented (Jackson, 2011).

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3.6 Ethical consideration
The ethical consideration like honesty, clarity of opinion along with ethical ways of
collecting the opinion of the students. No force has been implied and also the answers have
been kept as a secret to avoid any problems.
3.7 Study limitations
The depth of the research could have been more prominent along with the implication
of more theories and data methods. The analysis could have been more precise.

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4. Study Impact
The expected outcomes of the study will be finding the relation between fast food and
obesity in the lives of the tertiary students in Australia. The results will be used to create
awareness and also to give the educational arenas hints to formulate plans to overcome these
by implementing healthy food options in the campus. The current public health policy will be
implemented in a positive way as the government will have a note on the problems and
solutions for the obesity issues.

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5. Project Management Arrangements
The students will be involved in the project along with their chosen samples for the
research. To conduct the study, the organizational help to make a list of students are needed
along with group and individual interest in conducting the studies for the areas. According to
me, I will need the expertise to collect and analyse the data that is required to conduct the
study. The overall study will need people who understand health, the problems and can infer
solutions from given set of raw data which will be needed in this project. I will need to
include more analytical skills in the assessment and also to have detailed analysis for the
samples and primary data collected.

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4. Reference
Alberga, A. S., Sigal, R. J., Goldfield, G., Prud'Homme, D., & Kenny, G. P. (2012).
Overweight and obese teenagers: why is adolescence a critical period?. Pediatric
obesity, 7(4), 261-273.
Apovian, C. M., Aronne, L., Rubino, D., Still, C., Wyatt, H., Burns, C., ... & COR‐II Study
Group. (2013). A randomized, phase 3 trial of naltrexone SR/bupropion SR on weight
and obesity‐related risk factors (COR‐II). Obesity, 21(5), 935-943.
Brand-Miller, J. C., & Barclay, A. W. (2017). Declining consumption of added sugars and
sugar-sweetened beverages in Australia: a challenge for obesity prevention, 2. The
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 105(4), 854-863.
Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching. Retrieved from Research:
https://cirt.gcu.edu/research/developmentresources/research_ready/experimental/
benefits_limits
Dunn, R. A., Sharkey, J. R., & Horel, S. (2012). The effect of fast-food availability on fast-
food consumption and obesity among rural residents: an analysis by race/ethnicity.
Economics & Human Biology, 10(1), 1-13.
Frank, B. (2012). The formation of consumer attitudes and intentions towards fast food
restaurants: how do teenagers differ from adults?. Managing Service Quality: An
International Journal, 22(3), 260-282.
Grimes, C. A., Riddell, L. J., Campbell, K. J., & Nowson, C. A. (2013). Dietary salt intake,
sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, and obesity risk. Pediatrics, peds-2012.

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Hsieh, J. (2016). Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from Science:
https://www.Britannica.com/science/ecological-fallacy
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Jackson, S.L. (2011) “Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Approach” 4th edition,
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Kurdaningsih, S. V., Sudargo, T., & Lusmilasari, L. (2017). Physical activity and sedentary
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Laake, P., Haakon, B., Olsen, B. (2015) Research in Medical and Biological Sciences (2nd
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Lee, H. (2012). The role of local food availability in explaining obesity risk among young
school-aged children. Social science & medicine, 74(8), 1193-1203.
Morley, B., Martin, J., Niven, P., & Wakefield, M. (2012). Health Public Policy Public
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Patel, O., Shahulhameed, S., Shivashankar, R., Tayyab, M., Rahman, A., Prabhakaran,
D., . . . Jaacks, L. (2018). Association between full service and fast food restaurant
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Robertson, D.; Williams, G. (2009). Clinical and Translational SciencE Principles of Human
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Sobol‐Goldberg, S., Rabinowitz, J., & Gross, R. (2013). School‐based obesity prevention
programs: A meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials. Obesity, 21(12), 2422-
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Song, J., Chung, K. (2010). Observational Studies: Cohort and Case Control Studies. Plastic
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Zhao, Y., Wang, L., Xue, H., Wang, H., & Wang, Y. (2017). Fast food consumption and its
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