Biology Investigation Form 4.pdf - sciebegr

Collaborative Investigation Form 4

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Biology Investigation Form 4. Identifying the Problem. Circulatory diseases, (such as heart disease and stroke), cancers and diabetes, are now the leading causes of premature death and disabilities in Malta. Other conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, smoking and low physical activity are highly prevalent among the Maltese, and these are increasing the risks for the above mentioned diseases. Together, these conditions inflict a substantial burden of illness on the Maltese bringing about disability, loss of productive years and a drain on resources. The important role of diet in the prevention of some of these diseases, is now recognised by the government, the health promotion unit and the international scientific community. In this investigation, we will be distributing 10 questionnaires each to ask the individuals about their daily eating habits. Then, we will analyse the response and draw our own conclusions about the eating habits in our relatives and friends. Then we will try to pass on the following suggestions to the individuals that we interview: • gradual reduction in meat consumption (particularly beef) to be compensated by fish and poultry, • the substitution of high dairy products with low fat alternatives and • an increased consumption of fruit and vegetables and whole grain cereal products. Tackling the Problem. First every student did her own research about “Healthy Eating”. Then, we agreed on distributing 10 questionnaires each student so that we will have around 150 questionnaires to compare. The results will be presented as tables and then worked out as percentages so that it will be possible for us to present them as graphs for better and easier interpretation. Research. Every student did her own research about this topic “Healthy Eating”. Every student did research about the main nutrients i.e. carbohydrates, proteins, fats, water, fibre, minerals and vitamins. Then every student did research about diseases brought by malnutrition, and we also found suggestions for balanced diet. Performing the Actual Investigation. Method: 1. Students worked in groups to come up with the questions that they wanted to include in the questionnaire 2. The best suggested questions were chosen for the actual questionnaire that was common for all the students so that it would be easier to compare the results. 3. Every student distributed 10 questionnaires to family / friends etc making sure that every student asked: 2 teenagers; 2 adult women (e.g. mother and aunt); 2 adult men (e.g. father and uncle); 2 old women (e.g. grandma and another old lady from your street); 2 old men (e.g. grandpa and another old man) 4. The results were analysed and a final conclusion was derived.

Form 4 Students 2011-2


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Results:

Question Do you have breakfast in the morning? Do you have cereal and milk as breakfast? Do you have any junk food for breakfast? Do you take a snack during mid morning? Do you take fruit / yogurt / healthy snack? Do you take a fatty snack? Do you have a healthy low calorie lunch? Do you have a high fat abundant lunch? Do you have a healthy snack between lunch and dinner? Do you have a fatty or high calorie snack between lunch and dinner? Do you eat something healthy and moderate in calories during dinner? Do you eat a healthy dinner? Do you eat more often during a day – i.e. more than 5 times a day? Do you nibble biscuits or high fat food in between meals? Do you eat 5 fruits and vegetables every day? Do you think that you eat more than 2000 calories every day? Do you think you eat around 2000 calories every day? Are you happy with your eating habits? Would you like to improve your eating habits? Do you think that you are increasing weight because you are eating more? Are you losing weight because you are eating less? Do you eat too many fatty foods such as chocolates or ice-creams or sweets every day? Do you drink alcohol frequently?

Teenagers 8 8

Adult women 18 13

Adult men 10 7

Old women 17 9

Old men 13 6

0

3

5

5

3

21

19

16

16

17

10

16

13

16

16

7 10

5 13

7 13

5 16

7 14

3 10

5 14

8 10

4 15

6 13

12

7

9

2

6

20

19

13

21

18

20 9

18 7

17 7

22 9

18 5

18

11

15

11

12

4

7

4

9

5

7

4

9

7

9

16

19

12

14

12

13 16

13 12

11 16

18 7

13 14

8

10

11

6

1

7

5

3

13

2

13

6

9

9

10

0

5

10

17

7



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Analysis of The Results. The students who participated in this investigation were: 1. Martina Borg 2. Donnalise Portelli 3. Charlene Farrugia 4. Eleonor Grech 5. Nadette Balzan 6. Angelique Borg 7. Daniela Borg 8. Michaela Attard 9. Rachel Balzan 10. Stephanie Camilleri 11. Kimberly Mangion 12. Daniela Borg Every student carried out 10 questionnaires. The total number of questionnaires examined were: • 22 teenagers • 22 adult women • 22 adult men • 22 mature women • 22 mature men These are the results:

This graph shows that the adult women are the most that start the day by taking a breakfast. Most teenagers start their day by not having a breakfast. Then, the adult men come next at



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not taking breakfast, and then the mature men. It seems that men feel less the need to start the day by having a breakfast than women. We didn’t ask the reasons.

In the question it is very evident that out of the 8 teenagers that have breakfast, they only take cereal with milk. Out of the 18 adult women that have breakfast, 13 of them take cereal with milk. Out of 10 adult men that take breakfast, 7 take cereal with milk. However, only 9 mature women out of 17 take cereal with milk, the other 8 take other things. Out of 13 mature men, only 6 take cereal with milk. It is interesting to see those who have breakfast but do not take cereal what they take. It is very evident from this question that cereal with milk is most popular with teenagers and adult women.

In this third question where the 22 persons studied were asked if they have any junk food for breakfast, no teenagers answered yes. Three women replied yes. A “Yes” could mean Form 4 Students 2011-2


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pastries, fried items, cakes, biscuits, or any other fatty foods that are poor in nutrients. In this question we could see that 5 adult men, 5 mature women and 3 mature men eat junk food as breakfast the majority of their days.

The majority of people asked take a snack during mid-morning. The highest age group is the teenagers. Then come the adult women. Most of the persons that do not take a mid-morning snack told us that they don’t have time for it because usually they are very busy, but not always. Occasionally they do take a mid-morning snack, but they are not considered here.



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Out of the 21 teenagers that take a snack during the mid-morning, only 10 take a fruit or yogurt or healthy snack. In the next question we will see that 7 take a fatty snack and another 4 take other things. Amongst the highest persons who take healthy snack are the adult women, mature women and mature men. It seems that there is more awareness in eating healthy snack in mature people and adult women (as from this investigation).

7 out of 21 teenagers take a fatty snack. Most of them said that they eat packets of crisps, pop corn, pastries, chocolate, sweets or other junk food and sweets during the first break at school. The lowest sector that takes least fatty snack at this time of day are the adult women. The highest are the adult men and mature men i.e. 7 teenagers.



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Mature women are the highest who answered that they take a healthy low calorie lunch. 16 out of 22 mature women answered so. Most of them did not know exactly what the question meant and we had to explain that healthy low calorie means broth, soups, vegetables, fish, non-fried foods, etc. The teenagers were the group that least replied yes to this question.

It is to be noted that in no category were there a lot of people who answered that they consume high fat abundant lunch every day. The highest number was 8 adult men out of the 22 asked. Then we find the mature men who replied yes, and next we find the adult women that were only 5. The teenagers were the group that least answered yes to this question and this shows that this is the group where there is more awareness about healthy lunch.



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15 out of 22 mature women take a healthy snack between lunch and dinner. Teenagers and adult men were the two categories that least take a snack between lunch and dinner.

12 teenagers out of 22 take a fatty or high calorie snack between lunch and dinner. In the previous question, another 10 teenagers told us that they take a healthy snack, so there are more who take fatty or high calorie snack than teenagers who take a healthy snack. The difference is not so big and this shows us that although there is a lot of awareness amongst students about healthy eating, some still opt to eat non-healthy food. On the other hand, only 2 mature women eat unhealthy snacks between lunch and dinner. It could be that they are more conscious about their health.



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In this question, 21 out of 22 mature women answered that they eat healthy food during dinner. 20 out of 22 teenagers replied the same. Infact in this question there have been a lot of people who told us that they eat healthy at this time of the day. The category of people who most don’t eat healthy is the adult men, where 9 don’t eat healthy.

37 persons out of 110 replied that they eat more than 5 times a day. Teenagers and mature women were amongst the highest. But in reality these are only around one third of all the persons asked.



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On the contrary of the last question, this question shows that 67 out of 110 persons nibble biscuits or high fat food in between meals. This is a bad habit in the Maltese people, and maybe in other nationalities that needs to be improved. Nibbling increases weight gain in people, and more tooth decay. Again, the majority that nibble between meals are the teenagers.

This question was shocking as it shows the low level of Maltese people who eat 5 friuts and vegetables every day inspite of all the adverts, promotions and campaign by the health promotion unit in Malta. The mature women are the most who consume fruits and vegetables, but the teenagers and adult men are the lowest (4 out 22 in each category).



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Less than half the persons asked replied that they exceed the 2000 calories a day. Infact the adult men and mature men are the most that eat calories a day. Adult women are more aware and only 4 replied that they exceed the 2000 calories. Only 7 teenagers stated that they eat more. The others eat around 2000 calories.

60 out of 110 persons are happy with their eating habits. In the next question we asked if they would like to improve their eating habits.

This question shows that even if there were persons who previously replied that they are happy with their eating habits would like to improve. This is a very good thing because one can always improve on the good – for a better life and eating habits.



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We asked this question because we know that in Malta there is a high incidence of obesity. We wanted to know how much people are aware that eating too much causes weight gain. From the people we asked we find that 8 teenagers out of the 7 who replied that they are eating more than 2000 calories a day told us that they think that they are gaining weight because they eat more. However, here, the teenagers have to be aware that they are during the period in one’s life when they are growing with a fast rate and so healthy eating is very important. They should be aware that they need more proteins and calcium than other groups. They can only eliminate the nibbling of biscuits and fatty foods between meals and include more fruits and vegetables every day. The least group that think that they gain weight because they eat more are the mature men. Mature women are next. The highest group that replied yes were the adult men. Perhaps adult women are more conscious about body weight and keeping the figure than men.



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12 mature women out of 22 are losing weight because they eat less than they should. The reasons could be because they are dieting, or because they are losing apetite, or because they don’t feel like eating. We didn’t ask why. However, if one keeps the ideal weight, it is very good to live a healthy life. On the other hand mature men are the least who are losing weight because they are eating less. 7 teenagers out of 22 are losing weight. These should be very careful as not to miss any important food nutriets from their diet. This could leave bad effects on their health as they are in their peak of their growth rate.

As we assumed the highest category would be teenagers and that’s what it resulted. Many teenagers buy sweets or chocolates as part of their every day habits. We assumed that the mature men and women would be the least but we were wrong. The lowest group was the adult women. Again the reason could be because they are very conscious of their figure. From this question we conclude that there must be more awareness amongst teenagers to cut out the chocolates and sweets and take fruits as alternative.



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The last question was about alcohol. None of the teenagers said that they drink alcohol frequently. The highest category, to our amasement was the mature women (17 out of 22). We would have assumed that the adult men or mature men drink alcohol frequently because they perhaps drink beer. 10 adult men and 10 mature men out of 22 drink alcohol frequently. Only 4 adult women out of 22 drink alcohol frequently. These were our results. This was not a scientific study, but a study that we made to carry out an investigation amongst our friends, relatives and other people we know. We hope that at least, by doing this questionnaire, we made more people think about their daily eating habits and make them conscious to improve towards a healthier lifestyle.
