RESEARCH REPORT

WRITE QUESTION HERE

ABHRANIL BOSE
ANKITA GANDHI
KANIKA NARANG
SUBHAV WADHWA
TUSHAR SARAOGI
SHREY SHETH

INTRODUCTION
Over the past few decades, the lifestyle of people around the country, specially in urban areas
has changed drastically. The fast pace of life along with stress has played a pivotal role in
bringing about these changes.
The food habits, the sleeping cycle, the extent of involvement in physical activity,
dependence on technology etc have changed. While the frequency of eating out at restaurants
has zoomed, so have portion sizes. Skipping breakfast, heavy dinners, long gaps between
meals, lack of fibre-rich food is so very evident in the diets of today. Roti and dal, which was
considered to be the staple diet of almost the entire country, has been substituted by instant
noodles, pasta, burgers, pizza and other such junk foods.
The age group which probably has undergone the maximum amount of change is the youth.
The heavy dependency on technology, high stress levels due to heavy workload, outdoor
sport taking a backseat, lack of physical activity, increasing affluence, easy availability of fast
and convenient foods etc have been few of the reasons behind this. The prevalence of
television commercials promoting unhealthy food as "healthy" and "nutritious" has
contributed a lot to poor eating habits. Consumption of cold drinks, especially among youth,
for instance, has increased in the last 20 years by 300 per cent.
Is this a matter of concern? The answer is yes and a strong one at that. The unhealthy lifestyle
choices have a grave impact on the health of the individuals. These unhealthy practices lead
to a host of lifestyle related diseases like the alzheimer's, arteriosclerosis, chronic liver
disease, diabetes, heart diseases, nutritional deficiency, obesity etc.
Lets have a look at some statistics-

The average age of people with heart ailments is coming down. We are getting patients as
young as 20 years. In the next five to 10 years around 20 percent of the Indian population
would be affected by the same.
61.7 per cent adolescents were underweight and 51.7 per cent stunted.
In adolescent boys and girls with anaemia prevalence rate was more than 60 per cent.
Prevalence of overweight and obesity was 12.64 and 3.39 per cent respectively. The overall
prevalence rate was 12.64 per cent.
The percentage of young people who eat breakfast decreases with age; only 57% of people
ages 19-25 eat breakfast.
20.1 per cent of boys and 17.9 per cent of girls were suffering from high anxiety.
10 per cent of alcohol users were adolescents and youth aged 16-25 yr of age.

RESEARCH PROBLEM
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
VARIABLES
RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
RESEARCH DESIGN
SCREENERS

SECTION 2
SAMPLE DESIGN
DATA COLLECTION
SAMPLING TECHNIQUES
SAMPLE SIZE
DATA REFINING

SECTION 3
DATA ANALYSIS
FOCUS GROUP
INTERVIEW
QUESTIONNAIRE
OBJECTIVE 1
OBJECTIVE 2
OBJECTIVE 3
OBJECTIVE 4
OBJECTIVE 5

ANNEXURE:
QUESTIONNAIRE
CODING

SECTION 1
RESEARCH PROBLEM
To analyse how healthy the lifestyle choices of the urban youth are.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
1. To study the lifestyle choices of the urban youth.
2. To study the relationship between gender and lifestyle choices.
3. To understand the relationship between the food preference (vegetarian/non vegetarian) and
the lifestyle choices.
4. To analyse how far the B.M.I. is reflective of these lifestyle choices.
5. To study the relationship between these lifestyle choices and lifestyle related diseases

VARIABLES
1.
2.
3.
4.

Physical Activity
Diet
Sleeping Cycle
Stress

RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
1.
2.
3.
4.

There is no interdependence between Gender on Lifestyle choices.

There is no interdependence between Food Preferences on Lifestyle choices.
There is no interdependence between B.M.I. and Lifestyle choices.
There is no interdependence between Lifestyle choices and Lifestyle Related Diseases.

SCREENERS
1. The sample selected was between the age group of 18-25 years.
2. The income group of the respondents is moderately high to high.
3. The respondents all belong to urban area. (For the current study the geographical area has
been restricted to Mumbai and Pune)

RESEARCH DESIGN
Exploratory Research

Exploratory research was conducted in order to define the research problem more clearly and
help determine the best data collection techniques, analysis methods, hypothesis formulation
etc.
The following tools were used for conducting the exploratory researchFocus Groups
Interviews
Secondary Data Analysis
Descriptive Research
Descriptive research was conducted to gain deeper insight into the lifestyle choices made by
the respondents.
A structured questionnaire was used for conducting the descriptive research.

SECTION 2
SAMPLE DESIGN
DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES
Primary data
1. Focus Group
2. Structured Questionnaire
3. Interviews with Experts
Secondary data
1. Existing reports by experts.
2. Cited Articles
SAMPLING TECHNIQUES
Focus Group
A combination of convenience sampling and judgement sampling was used for the focus
group. A conscious effort was made to give representation to all ideologies, from fitness
freaks to highly inactive individuals and from extremely cautious eaters to those who binge
on junk food and street food.
Interviews
For interviews a combination of convenience sampling and purposive sampling was done.
Personal references were used to approach specialists namely, doctors, nutritionists/dietitians
and gym trainers.
Questionnaire
Initially a convenience sampling was used and the questionnaire was circulated through email
and social media. The number of responses collected was greater than the desired sample
size. From the responses received a sample of 65 was chosen using simple random sampling.

SAMPLE SIZE
Total respondents to questionnaire- 65

Gender
MALE

FEMALE

29

36

B.M.I.
BODY MASS INDEX
LOW

IDEAL

OVERWEIGHT

OBESE

10

43

Food Preference
VEGETARIAN

EGGETARIAN

NON VEGETARIAN

12

49

DATA REFINING
Data refining is the cleaning of data to remove any irrelevant, incorrect, fictitious or other
inadmissible responses.
-

Multiple responses by same respondent were filtered out

Fictional responses with respect to unrealistic height, weight and age were filtered out
Filtering the irrelevant responses. e.g. Age group that did not represent our sample.
Logically inconsistent responses were filtered out.

SECTION 3
DATA ANALYSIS
FOCUS GROUP
Number of focus groups - 3
AGENDA FOR FOCUS GROUP
Aim
-

To understand what constitutes healthy living in the minds of the urban youth
To understand what lifestyle choices they are making
To analyze if they are making a conscious effort to to make choices that are healthy
Number of participants

6-10 participants
Time

10-20 minutes
Methodology used

Use combination of convenience & judgement sampling.

Use audio visual recording
Have one moderator to monitor and drive the discussion
Criterion for moderator

Good interpersonal skills

Good listeners
Give a fair chance to all participants to put forward their viewpoints
Must have unbiased view on the topic
Should involve everyone in the discussion
Should drive the discussion into the needed direction
Flow of discussion

Introduction of participants
Understand how the group defines healthy living
Know about any conscious effort they take for a healthy living
Take their views on eating habits, exercise, yoga, stress, (alcohol)
Discuss the want for a healthy living
Ask about possible factors that define health living

Methodology of analysis
-

Based on audio visual recording of focus group discussion

Take verbal and nonverbal gestures into consideration
Draw a conclusion on the same with the qualitative data obtained from focus group
FINDINGS

A balanced diet and a strict routine is important

Being healthy means being mentally happy and active.
Working out mainly to make up for the junk food (roughly 3-4 times a week)
Good amount of sleep (7-8 hours) , at a stretch or at intervals.
Keeping alcohol and smoking to minimum.
Waking up early and following a balanced routine.
Some people agreed that they knew about the harmful effects of eating out, skipping meals
but still went ahead and did it.
Breakfast was the most neglected meal, lunch mostly being the heaviest.
INFERENCE

Respondents were quite well aware of what is healthy, however they did not necessarily
follow healthy habits.
Major reasons for this divergence were stress, workload, lack of time, lack of interest etc.
INTERVIEW
Number of Interviews - 9
BASIC QUESTIONNAIRE

What are the issues young adults come to you with most often ? What are the most common
lifestyle ( food/exercise/sleep/stress) related health issues among young adults ?
How often do you find that your patients have misconceptions about what is healthy ? Which
of these misconceptions are most common ?
?What is the ideal frequency and duration of exercise that a person should be engaged in per
week to stay fit? What are the harmful effects of under-exercise and over-exercise?
Are dietary supplements healthy? would you encourage the intake of such items?
What is the ideal calorie intake in a day? What could be ill effects of over intake or under
intake of calories?
What should a normal healthy meal (the three main meals) consist of? (meat, pulses, wheat,
vegetables etc)
Is it healthy to have desserts often?
When should a person have his/her largest meal of the day?
What is the ideal amount of fruit/vegetable intake in a day?
How often should a person eat out ?
How does consumption of junk food like chips, pizza, burgers etc . affect our health?
What is the ideal amount of water intake? What are the harmful effects of low water intake?
8

What is the minimum amount of sleep that a human body requires to stay healthy? how
would less sleep affect our body?
What is the impact of stress on health?
What is your mantra to stay fit?
FINDINGS

Misconceptions not very prevalent among the youth due to abundance of information
Physical activities for 40-60mis everyday, or at least six days in a week.
Proper rest and proper diet are very important.
Small meals every two hours
Have proper intake of proteins and other nutrients
Avoid junk food
Less calories
Avoid eating sweets very often
At least 3 meals is important.
Breakfast is the most important meal
Avoid very heavy food late in the evening.
Important to follow a routine, avoid skipping meals
At least have 2-3 liters of water.
Get at least 8 hours sleep,
Most preferably at a stretch
And between 10pm to 9am
Supplements should be taken only if you are regularly working out.
Eating out once in awhile is acceptable, but
Even when eating out do not overeat,
Try to eat healthy food which not too oily and has nutritional value
Stress has a detrimental impact on health
QUESTIONNAIRE

LEVEL OF SIGNIFICANCE TAKEN

0.05
OBJECTIVE 1
To study the lifestyle choices of the urban youth.
InferenceOBJECTIVE 2
To study the relationship between gender and lifestyle choices.
Hypothesis TestingH0: Gender and Lifestyle Choices are Independent of each other
H1: Gender and Lifestyle Choices are NOT Independent of each other
Calculated
Lifestyle Choices

Tabulated
0.352

Gende
r

Gende
r

Gende
r

Healthy
12

Moderat
e
10

Unhealth
y
7

Total
29

9
21

14
24

13
20

36
65

Male
Femal
e

Healthy
9.3692
3
11.630
7

Moderat
e
10.7076
92
13.2923
08

Unhealth
y
8.92307
69
11.0769
23

Male
Femal
e

Healthy
0.7386
8
0.5950
5

Moderat
e
0.04677
28
0.03767
81

Unhealth
y
0.41445
62
0.33386
75

Male
Femal
e
Total

Total
29
36

2.1665
18

Grand Total

ObservationCalculated

: 2.166

Tabulated

: 0.352

Calculated

> Tabulated

Reject H0, Accept H1

Inference- Gender and Lifestyle choices are not independent of each other.

10

Percentage representation in the sample space

Gender
Male
Female

On the basis of their Workout

Males
Females

Healthy
41.37%
25%

Healthy
41.37
41.28

Moderate
34.49%
38.89%

Moderate
20.68
20.22

Unhealthy
24.14%
36.11%

Unhealthy
37.95
38.5

11

On the basis of their Diet

Males
Females

On the basis of Other questions

Males
Females

Healthy
38.88
10.34

Moderate
25
31.03

Unhealthy
36.12
58.62

44.82
33.33

Moderate
32
25

Unhealth
y
24.13
41.67

Healthy

12

13

OBJECTIVE 3
To understand the relationship between the food preference (vegetarian/non vegetarian) and
the lifestyle choices.

Hypothesis TestingH0:Food Preferences and Lifestyle Choices are Independent of each other
H1:Food Preferences and Lifestyle Choices are NOT Independent of each other

Food
Preferen
ce

Vegetarian
Eggetarian
Non
Vegetarian
Total

Calculated
Lifestyle Choices
Moderat Unhealth
Healthy
e
y
2
5
5
1
2
1
18
21

Healthy
Food
Preferen
ce

Vegetarian

3.8769

Eggetarian
Non
Vegetarian

1.2923
15.830

Healthy
Food
Preferen
ce

Vegetarian

0.9086

Eggetarian
Non
Vegetarian

0.0661
0.2972

17
24

14
20

Moderat
e
4.43076
9
1.47692
3
18.0923
0

Unhealth
y
3.692307
6
1.230769
2
15.07692
3

Moderat
e
0.07313
0
0.18525
6
0.06594
7

Tabulat
ed

Total
12
4
49
65

Total
12
4
49
0.711

Unhealth
y
0.463141
0
0.043269
2
0.076923
0
2.179
6

Grand Total

ObservationCalculated

: 2.180

Tabulated

: 0.711

14

Calculated

> Tabulated

Reject H0, Accept H1

Inference- Food preference and lifestyle choices are not independent of each other.
PREFRENCES OF THE SAMPLE
Eggetarian

Vegetarian

12

Non-Vegetarian

49

15

Vegetarian
Non
Vegetarian
Eggetarian

Food Preference
Health Moderat
y
e
33.33
% 41.67%
31.25
% 29.17%
25%
50%

Unhealt
hy
25%
39.58%
25%

60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
Vegetarian

30.00%

Non Vegetarian
Eggetarian

20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
Healthy

Moderate

Unhealthy

On the basis of Physical Workout

Health Moderat Unhealth
y
e
y
66.67
Vegetarian
%
8.33%
25%
36.73
Non Vegetarian
%
22.45%
40.82%

16

Eggetarian

50%

0%

50%

80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
Vegetarian

40.00%

Non Vegetarian
Eggetarian

30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
Healthy

Moderate

Unhealthy

On the basis of Diet

Vegetarian
Non Vegetarian

Health
y
25%
26.53
%

Moderat
e
25%
24.49%

Unhealth
y
50%
48.98%

17

60%

50.00
%

25%

25%

50%
40%
30%

Vegetarian

Non Vegetarian

Eggetarian

20%
10%
0%
Healthy

Moderate

Unhealthy

Eggetarian

On the basis of Others

Healthy Moderate
Vegetarian
33%
16.67%
Non Vegetarian 36.74%
34.69%
Eggetarian
25%
0%

Unhealthy
50.00%
28.57%
75%

18

80%
70%
60%
50%
Vegetarian

40%

Non Vegetarian
Eggetarian

30%
20%
10%
0%
Healthy

Moderate

Unhealthy

19

OBJECTIVE 4
To analyse how far the B.M.I. is reflective of these lifestyle choices.
Hypothesis TestingH0: B.M.I. of an individual and Lifestyle Choices are Independent of each other
H1: B.M.I. of an individual and Lifestyle Choices are NOT Independent of each other

B.M.I

Low
Ideal
Overweigh
t
Obese
Total

Low
B.M.I

Ideal
Overweigh
t
Obese

Low
B.M.I

Ideal
Overweigh
t
Obese

Calculated
Lifestyle Choices
Healthy Moderate
Unhealthy
4
0
6
13
14
16

Tabulated
Total
10
43

3
1
21

3
2
19

2
1
25

8
4
65

Healthy
3.23076
9
13.8923
1
2.58461
5
1.29230
8

Moderate
2.923076
9
12.56923
1
2.338461
5
1.169230
8

Unhealthy

Total

3.84615385

10

16.5384615

43

3.07692308

1.53846154

Healthy

Moderate
2.923076
9

0.18315
0.05731
3
0.06675
8
0.06611
7

0.162866
0.187145
7
0.590283
4

Unhealthy
1.20615385
0.01753131
0.37692308
0.18846154
6.0257
8

Grand Total

1.635

ObservationCalculated

: 6.026

Tabulated

: 1.635

20

Calculated

> Tabulated

Reject H0, Accept H1

Inference- B.M.I and Lifestyle Choices are not independent of each other.

21

Underweight
Normal
Overweight
Obese

B.M.I.
Health
Moderat
y
e
20%
20%
30.23
%
32.56%
50%
37.50%
25%
50%

Unhealth
y
60%
37.21%
12.50%
25%

70%
60%
50%
40%

Healthy
Moderate

30%

Unhealthy

20%
10%
0%
Underweight

Normal

Overweight

Obese

On the basis of physical Workout

Healthy Moderate Unhealthy
Underweight
30%
0%
70%
Normal
44.19%
18.60%
37.21%
Overweight
37.50%
50%
12.50%
Obese
25%
50%
25%

22

80%
70%
60%
50%
Healthy

40%

Moderate
Unhealthy

30%
20%
10%
0%
Underweight

Underweight
Normal
Overweight
Obese

Normal

Overweight

On the basis of Diet

Healthy Moderate
30.00%
10%
23.26%
30.23%
75%
12.50%
0%
50%

Obese

Unhealthy
60%
46.51%
12.50%
50%

80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
Healthy

40.00%

Moderate
Unhealthy

30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
Underweight

Normal

On the basis of Others

Healthy Moderate
Underweight
60%
20%
Normal
30.23%
27.91%
Overweight
37.50%
25%
Obese
50%
25%

Overweight

Obese

Unhealthy
20%
41.86%
37.50%
25%

23

70%
60%
50%
40%

Healthy
Moderate

30%

Unhealthy

20%
10%
0%
Underweight

Normal

Overweight

Obese

24

OBJECTIVE 5
To study the relationship between these lifestyle choices and lifestyle related diseases
Hypothesis TestingH0:Lifestyle related Diseases and Lifestyle choice are Independent of each other
H1:Lifestyle related Diseases and Lifestyle choice are NOT Independent of each other
Calculated
Lifestyle Choices

Lifestyle
Disease

Lifestyle
Disease

Lifestyle
Disease

Tabulated

Healthy
3
20

Moderate
0
17

Unhealth
y
3
22

Total
6
59

23

17

25

65

Healthy

Moderate

Yes

2.12307

1.5692308

No

20.8769

15.430769

Healthy

Moderate

Yes

0.36220

1.5692308

No

0.03683

0.1595828

Yes
No
Tota
l

Unhealth
y
2.30769
23
22.6923
07

Total
6
59

0.352

Unhealth
y
0.20769
23
0.02112
12
2.356
6

Grand Total

ObservationCalculated

: 2.357

Tabulated

: 0.352

Calculated

> Tabulated

Reject H0, Accept H1

Inference- Lifestyle related diseases and Lifestyle Choices are not independent of each other.

25

26

Healthy
Unhealthy

Lifestyle Diseases
Healthy Moderate
28.80%
35.60%
50%
0%

Unhealthy
35.60%
50%

60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
Healthy

30.00%

Unhealthy
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
Healthy

Moderate

Unhealthy

On the basis of physical Workout

Healthy
Moderate
Unhealthy
Healthy
38.98%
23.73%
37.29%
Unhealthy
50%
0%
50%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
Healthy

30.00%

Unhealthy
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
Healthy

Moderate

Unhealthy

27

Healthy
Unhealthy

On the basis of Diet

Healthy Moderate
30.51%
27.12%
17%
66.00%

Unhealthy
42.37%
17%

70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
Healthy
30.00%

Unhealthy

20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
Healthy

Healthy
Unhealthy

Moderate

Unhealthy

On the basis of Others

Healthy Moderate
Unhealthy
38.89%
28.81%
32.30%
33.33%
16.67%
50%

60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
Healthy

30.00%

Unhealthy
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
Healthy

Moderate

Unhealthy

28

LIMITATIONS
-

The following are the limitations of this research

Respondents of the focus group may not always give their opinion and may choose to go with
the general consensus.
Bias in the responses of the experts.
Respondent bias.
As the information sought is personal and sensitive in nature respondents may manipulate
facts to protect their privacy and dignity.
Factors like Drugs & Alcohol have not been taken into consideration for the study as a part of
the population is underage and may not respond truthfully on these parameters as underage
consumption of alcohol and consumption of drugs is illegal and punishable by law.
Science does quantitatively categorise all practices into strict divisions of healthy and
unhealthy, therefore, there is a heavy reliance on expert opinion.
All facets of lifestyle, such as stress and sleeping cycle, have not been taken into
consideration in detail.

RECOMMENDATIONS

29