Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Food preferences are when people evaluate their food choices, forming a

personal liking or disliking of a specific food or food group. Meiselman and Bell

(2003) describe how quantitative and nonquantitative approaches to food

evaluation have evolved over time; the US army developed a menu based on

food preference measurements (quantitative).

Food preference plays a very important role in the formation of

undesirable eating habits for students, and it was reported that people took

approximately 0.92 times the serving volume for food that they like, 0.54 times

the serving volume for food that they neither like nor dislike, and 0.11 times the

serving volume for food that they dislike (Baxter, 2002).

Food and water are essential requirements for all humans anywhere they

have become the second demand of preventing scientists interest in food is not

only recent but also for a long time especially in the field of anthropology they

have recognized people especially those who migrate in those who take difficult

conditions such as if foods diet, this hood their circumtances according to Bois

(2002).

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Furthermore, (Fetzer,1985) reported that food preferences are one of the

main factors influencing the intake of important nutrients, as well as the selection

of foods, and are dependent on the color, shape, taste, test, and texture of the

food. As a result, serving school foods without taking into account students'

preferences may be a cause of poor nutrient intake.

Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the quality of food

preferences of Senior High School Students of Dacudao National High School

during the first semester of the school year 2022-2023. The results of this study

were used for preliminary information in the field of nutrition education, which

seeks to improve the health and eating habits of students.Feeding programs

aimed at this group and emphasizing good nutrition have not met with much

success.

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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This research study aims to determine the food preference among Senior

High School Students of Dacudao National High School during the first semester

of School Year 2022-2023.

Specially this study seeks to answer the following questions:

of Dacudao National High School in terms of gender?

2.What is the food preferences of a Senior High School Student’s based on

these food groups:

2.1. go;

2.2. grow,

2.3. glow: and

2.4. junk foods?

3.Is there a significant difference in the food preferences between male and

female of senior high school students in Dacudao National High School?

STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESIS

Ho. There is no significance in the food preferences between male

and female students in Dacudao National High School.

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SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study, titled "Food Preference of Senior High School Students in

Dacudao National High School," would be beneficial to the researcher, future

researchers, and students. We believe that the study's findings will be beneficial

to the following.

1.Researchers- This will be a tool that will guide and navigate them to

discover reliable, and comparable factors that are known as indispensable data

for further understanding the topic.

2.Future Researcher- This is a huge help to future researchers because

it will serve as a guide for their first upcoming research; and

3.Students- The outcome will provide students with some knowledge on

the factors that contribute to the success of a small business, as well as some

background information on a specific topic.

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SCOPE AND DELIMINATION

This study examined the association of age, sex and socio economic

status to food preferences of Senior High School Students in Dacudao National

High School who were officially enrolled during the first semester of School year

2022-2023.The respondent of the study were delimited to the randomly selected

grade 11 students from cookery section Ruby and Agriculture section Amethyst.

This study focused only to the responses perceived by the Grade 11

students of Dacudao National High School about the quality of food preferences

of Senior High School Students. The respondent were only taken from one

curriculum, the grade 11, which does not represent the entire student population

of the said school.

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REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Food Preference

The main basic determinants of food choice are caused by our

physiological need.People need food to provide the body essential elements of

protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals on order to stay alive and

maintain good health (Johnston 2015).

RELATED STUDIES

According to the study of Drewnoski (2016) on taste preference and food

intake he emphasize that sensory responses to the taste,smell and texture of

food health,determine food preferences and eating habits. However,sensory

responses alone do not predict food consumption.Tasted responses are

influence by a range of genetic, physiological and metabolic variables. The

impact of taste factors on food intake further depend on sex and age and

modulated by obesity,eating behaviour. Food choices of population are further

linked to attitudinal, social and probably most important economic variable such

as time.

Furthermore,in the study of Manella (2001), it has been reiterated that

human desire for sweet taste spans all age,races and cultures. Throughout

evolution, sweetness has had a role in human nutrition, helping to orient feeding

behaviour towards food providing both energy and essential nutrients. However

the use has led to further concerns that dissociating sweetness from energy may

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disrupt the balance between taste response appetite and consumption

patterns,especially during development.

Moreover, Mingjie (2015) proposed a framework of tourist food experience

that leads from food related personality traits, novel consumption and satisfaction

to travel outcomes. With the results support the baseline model, the moderating

effect of novelty seeking does not moderate the relationship between personality

traits and consumption of novel food. It does,however moderate satisfaction with

food.

Also, Wright (2015) added an idea that human food choice is influenced

by biological,and cultural factors. Because human is food generalist, and

because the food environment in the first world is so different from the ancestral

human environment, innate the predisposition play a minimal role. Humans

principally learn to eat band like certain foods, and avoid others with traditions

being main influenced. As a result, the pleasures of eating, have become

tempered by a fear of fat and food.

In addition, Moore (2013) pointed out that an increasing focus on

legislation, policy and guidance on the limited impact of more behavioural or

educational approaches. However there is a risk that a sole focus on policy-level

actions may lead to neglect of the important contribution that more behavioural

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approaches can make as components of affective, coordinated,multilevel

action to improve the dietary intake of school children.

Based on the study conducted by A. McKesson & R. Nelson (2018) the

adolescent’s period is the stage in life cycle in which individuals begin to develop

independent decision making related to their social environment in including their

intake. When adolescents are given free choice they tend to follow an unbalance

diet with some diets raising concerns for their current and future health fifty seven

percent of respondents displayed serious concerns in their dietary choice of

which 18% where identified as requiring immediate intervention. The most

noticed able factors affecting dietary choice were the desire to the eat foods high

in fat and carbohydrates and low in fruit and vegetable consumption.

Generally, it has been always being emphasize that food habits and

preference of adolescent of 10 to 20 years old. Show that food habits and taste

are mostly related to age and gender. Girls pay more attention to dietetics snack

less than boys. Young adolescent age 10 to 16 learn appreciate “adult” foods. As

they grow older children snack more skip more meals and seem interested in

foreign food. Before puberty teenagers reject many foods they previously liked.

Their food repertoire widens at this period because of social and cognitive

influence P.McLeod & Bartholomew (2016).

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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This research is anchored to the theory of t-furst (1996). The food choice

process model, portraying may factor and process shaping a person thoughts,

feeling and actions related to food and eating. Based on life course events and

experience in the context of many types of influenced, a person construct a

personal food system as well as the influence, and the personal life course. A

basic and universal factors that provide the ground work for food choices was the

life course, which included past influences of personal experience and historical

eras, current involvement in trends and transition and anticipation of the future

events. Several participants referred to ways their up bringing, as members of a

given culture during a particular historic period and as participants in family life

course, exerted an influenced upon how they made food choices.

Sensory physiological and psychological mechanism are reviewed that

underline emotional influence on food choice. Both moods and emotions are

considered. Eating a meal will reliably alter mood and emotional predisposition,

typically reducing arousal and irritably, and increasing calmness and positive

effects. However, this depends on the meal size and compositions being close to

the eater’s habit, expectations and needs (Gibson,2016).

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Gender Food Preference

Figure 1: Conceptual Framework of the Study

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Definition of Terms

Food Preference- The evaluate attitudes that people express towards foods.

Food preferences include the qualitative evaluation of foods and also how much

people like and dislike them.

Food Choice- Investigate how people select the food they eat. An

interdisciplinary topic, food choice comprises psychological and sociological

aspects economic issues and sensory aspects.

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CHAPTER 2

METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, the researcher described the method and procedure used in the

study. The following are discussed in details: Research design, Respondent,

Research Instrument, Data Gathering Procedure and Data Analysis.

RESEARCH DESIGN

This study is descriptive- comparative which determined the difference

between gender and food preference of Dacudao National High School Students.

It sought to investigate the extent to which one or more difference of some type

exist. The approach required to administer the instruments necessary to collect

the data desired. This method involved recording, analysing and interpreting data

gathered through a test.

RESPONDENTS

The respondents of this study were thirty (30) students in Dacudao

National High School.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

The researcher used a survey questionnaire as instrument for data

gathering. The researchers developed the test by dividing into two (2) parts:

Junior High School and Senior High School. The respondent has answered the

questionnaire using the Five (5) means point Likert Scale:

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Five(5) means Like a lot, four (4) means Like a little, three (3) means

Neither like nor dislike, two (2) means Dislike a little, one (1) Dislike a lot.

The instrument had undergone validation from (3) research experts for the

acceptability and approval of this study.

Data Gathering Procedure

The researcher gathered the records/archives for tallying, analysing, and

interpreting, confidentially in using the data gathered was observed.

Data Analysis

Mean, this was used to determine the Food Preference in Dacudao

National High School.

Standard deviation, was used to measure the dispersion of the data from

the mean;

T-test for independent samples this statistical technique was used to

compare the data sets.

Weight Mean Range Description

5 4.20- 5.00 Like a lot

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Chapter 3

Results and Discussion

Presented in this chapter is the result of findings. The topic are discussed

and presented as follows; socio-demographic profile, mean the food preference

and significant difference of food preference male and female.

Table 1:Socio- Demographic Profile

Frequency

Male 15

Female 15

Total 30

Table 1 shows the socio-demographic profile of the respondents by

gender there are 15 male and 15 female total of 30 respondents.

Table 2: Mean of Food Preferences

FOOD GROUPS MEAN INTERPRETATION

GO 4.35 Like a lot

GROW 4.86 Like a lot

GLOW 3.35 Neither like nor dislike

JUNK FOODS 3.45 Like a little

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The mean of food preferences is shown in Table 2. The mean

score for go is 4.35 (Like a lot), the mean score for grow is 4.86 (Like a lot), the

mean score for glow is 3.35 (Neither like nor dislike), and the mean score for junk

foods is 3.45 (Like a little). People require food to provide the body with essential

elements such as protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals in order to

survive and maintain good health, according to Johnston (2015).

Table 3. Significant Differences of Food Preferences Between Male

and Female

Food Groups Mean Std.Deviation t-value Critical value Interpretation

GO

Male 4 .72 -1.46 2.05 not significant

Female 4.83 .81

GROW

Male 4.10 .64 1.43 2.042 not significant

Female 4 .72

GLOW

Male 3 .49 -1.30 2.02 not significant

Female 3.10 .53

JUNK FOODS

Male 3.30 .57 -1.43 2.05 not significant

Female 4 .72
An independent-sample t-test was used to compare the food preferences

between male and female. The difference on the food preferences of male in go

foods (M= 4, SD= 0.72) grow foods (M=4.10, SD= 0.64) glow foods (M=3, SD=

0.49) and junk foods (M= 3.30, SD= 0.57) and the food preferences of female in

go foods (M= 4.83, SD= 0.81) grow foods (M=4, SD= 0.72) glow foods (M= 3.10,

SD= 0.53) and junk foods (M=4, SD= 0.72) was not significant.

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Chapter 4

Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations

Summary

The study found that: (1) the socio-demographic profile of the respondents

by gender is 15 male and 15 female; (2) the mean rating of male food

preferences in go is 4, grow is 4.10, glow is 3, and junk foods is 3.30. The

average female food preference rating in go is 4.83, grow is 4, glow is 3.10, and

junk foods is 4. (3) An independent-sample t-test was used to compare male and

female food preferences.

Conclusion

The following conclusions are drawn based on the study's findings: (2)

mean food preference by male and female in go is Like a lot, grow is Like a lot,

glow is Neither like nor dislike, and junk foods is Like a little. (3) There is NO

SIGNIFICANT difference in food preferences between men and women. This

study contributes to positive changes in food and health behavior while also

providing health educators with more knowledge for developing strategies and

implementing interventions.

Recommendations

Based on the study's findings and conclusions, the researchers

recommend the following: (1)Women consume more fruit and vegetables,

legumes, and whole foods than men, but they also consume more sweets and

cakes. (2) Men tend to eat more fats and proteins and drink more alcohol m ore

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wine, beer, spirits, and sweet carbonated drinks are consumed; in general, they

exhibit dietary behaviors that may favor overweight and obesity.

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