The Consumption Habits of Traditional Food and Fast Food on College Students

Abstract

Background: The transformation of teenagers from students to college students has an impact on changes in lifestyle and eating patterns. Students' eating habits can also be influenced by the development of cafes and restaurants that serve foods made from processed fats and sugar which dominates. This condition can erode traditional food so that college students are no longer interested in consuming traditional food. This research aimed to describe the consumption habits of traditional food and fast food on college students.

Research Methods: The type of this research was quantitative, descriptive. Data collection taken from September to October 2023. Determining the number of samples used the total sampling method, namely all third semester nutrition college students at the State Islamic University of Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau with an age range of 18 - 21 years, totaling 87 people.

Research Result: The result of this research showed that the college students had high frequently consumed Riau traditional food namely nasi lemak/lemak rice (10.3%), asam pedas ikan/spicy sour fish (5.7%), gulai ikan patin atau salai/ catfish or smoked fish curry (5.7%), tumis belacan/stir-fry belacan (4.6%), and kemojo cake (4.6%). The college students had high frequently consumed  fast food namely fried chicken (39.1%), batagor (20.7%), soup meatball (19.5%), dumplings (19.5%), and instant noodles (19.5%).

Conclusion: This research showed that the college students consumed fast food more often than traditional food.