Mental Health Of College Students Case Study

In 2008, the Associated Press and mtvU, an American television network for college students, conducted a survey on mental health of college students and results showed that 8 out of 10 college students admitted that they experience daily life stresses for the past three months as stated by the American Institute of Stress. According to Abd El-Aziz, Sharkawy & Yousef (2014), there is a shift in the environment as students enter college life which needs more effort to accomplish works, reports, presentations, and recitations while coping up with social life and family gatherings. They also mentioned that these stressors trigger the students to develop unhealthy eating habits while in college. Basically, people eat to supply nutrients needed
However, some people tend to skip meals due to limited time and congested activities. According to the survey conducted by the American Psychological Association (2015), 26% of teens consumed unhealthy foods and high amounts than needed because of stress and 67% of them said that it was lack of appetite due to stress and 25% of teens said that it was lack of time. University of the Philippines students are not exempted to the problems on nutrition brought by stress. Being the premier university in the country, students are expected to give their best in everything they do which adds stress on them. With this, UPLB students stress themselves on home works, report, activities, and emotional stress that cause a shift in their eating habits and nutritional status as supported by imadreamer (2011). Thus, this study aims to determine the relationship of stress levels and eating habits of undergraduate students from UPLB on their nutritional status. The study will be based on and limited to students enrolled for the academic year
They said that female students have more unhealthy eating habits than male students when they experience stress. Furthermore, Abd El-Aziz, Sharkawy & Yousef (2014) found out on their study, “Relationship between Stress and Eating Habits among Nursing Students in Assiut”, that there is a consistent relationship between unhealthy eating habits and exposure to stress among female nursing students. Among the unhealthy eating habits are skipping of meals, eating outside the home, snacking and consuming fast foods ,decreasing consumption of fruits and vegetables, and increasing sugar intake. Generally, unhealthy eating habits can lower the nutrient concentration in the body that may affect how the brain functions. According to Griffin, Neblett, & Kissinger (n.d), niacin, thiamin, cobalamin, magnesium, and calcium absorption are reduced due to overconsumption of fats and sugars. But eating healthier foods such as fruits, vegetables, and grains in replacement of unhealthy snacks can provide the body with vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, and folate and with micronutrients such as magnesium, iron, selenium, zinc, phosphorus, and