Paper Title
Youths’ Eating Behavior
Abstract
Today, many youths risk their health by poor food choices. Poor eating habits can have both immediate and long-term health
consequences. Youth awareness about healthy food choices would help for better health and physical growth. The purpose of
this study was to examine the eating behavior of a sample of youth between the ages of 10 and 13. The participants were 532
students in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades from Shawnee Middle School in Lima, Ohio. The students were asked to
answer a questionnaire, CANKAP (Comprehensive Assessment of Nutrition Knowledge, attitudes, and Practices), which
measured their eating behavior. The CANKAP questionnaire consisted of 10 questions for sixth, seventh and eighth-grade
students. Also, the participants were asked to identify their gender. The findings indicated that there was a significant
difference between the mean eating behavior scores of seventh and eighth grades boys (26.66) and girls (29.53). However,
there was no significant difference in the mean value of eating behavior between sixth grade boys (19.23) and girls (19.68).
Key words- Youths, Eating Behavior, Food Choices