1

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF STUDY JUNK

FOOD ADDICTION IN THE HEALTH CONDITION OF THE STUDENTS
IN UPLAND INTEGRATED NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL,
SCHOOL YEAR 2020-2022

_________________________________________________

A Research Paper
Presented to the
Faculty of Senior High School
Upland Integrated National High School
Barangay Lazaan-Malinao
Nagcarlan Laguna

__________________________________________________

In Partial of Fulfillment
Of the Requirements in
Practical Research 1
Grade 11 HOME ECONOMICS

JUAN MIGUEL T. CAPARAS

ERWIN P. PANDACAN
STEPHEN P. PLATERO
ANGELICA A. DE VILLA
JUSTPHER T. GUTIEREZ

Researchers
June 2023
 2

CHAPTER 1
THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

 Most of the student are obsessed with eating junk food, Junk food is

made for your taste and brain to find but when its eaten often it has

bad effect on your body . Eating junk food is very worrying because

of the bad effects it cause on the body. The researcher want to know

the effect of Junk food addiction in the health condition. The

independent variable is the effect of junk food addiction and the

dependent variable is the health condition of the eating junk food of

the students.

 The purpose of our research is that we want to know how much

eating too much effects the health condition of students. We see

many students eating junk food, based on our survey 27 out of 33

students of grade 11 Home Economics eating junk food.

 “This gets (addictive?, [Link], N.D.)into the wonderful world of

the science of food,” she explains. “Processed foods are mainly salt,

sugar, fat and preservatives — all of which create a combination of

different sensations in your mouth. Your brain is involved as well.

Foods that rapidly vanish or ‘melt in your mouth’ signal to your brain

that you’re not eating as much as you actually are. In other words,

these foods literally tell your brain that you’re not full and you need
 3

more of the food. It sounds so good, but actually, you are not fueling

your body, but burdening it to work very hard to metabolize junk

food.”

Background of the Study

This section provides an overview of the research topic and its

historical developments in related literature, reasons for conducting this

research study, and the missing gaps in the existing knowledge and literature

that needs to be addressed.

Republic Act 10611

As stated in R.A. 10611 (Albert P. Aquino, 2013) “Otherwise know as the

food safety Act of 2013) The low primarily adheres to the Philippine

Constitution’s declaration to protect and promote the right of the people health

and keep its populace from the threat of trade malpractices and substandard

and Hazardous product.”To protect and to reduce the possible harmful effects of

eating junk food on the body.

Municipal ordinance

As stated in (Perlada, 2018)” Based on the ordinance, junk food is defined as

foods that are not made of indigenous, natural, fortified food products. This
also include foods that are low in nutritional content and high in calories, salt
and fats such as but not limited to “Sitsirya”, instant noodles, street foods and
those that shall be determined by the Joint Task Force .”The ingredients
 4

used in junk food have calories, salt and fats that affect the body of
those who eat it and they get little nutrition from it, their body may be
affected because they are lacking in nutrition and will be overloaded
with calories, fats and salt etc.

Dep Ed Orders no. 13

As stated in (Mateo, 2017)” The Dep Ed said consumption of

unhealthy foods outside the school premises are at the discretion of the
parents.”This is related to our topic because the dep Ed is correct in
choosing what the child will eat because unhealthy foods can cause
illness in a student's body.

As mentioned in (Max F Oginsky, 2016)”Obese people are more sensitive

to food cues, reporting stronger craving and consuming larger portions

after food cue exposure. The nucleus accumbens mediates cue-

triggered motivational responses, and activations in the NAC triggered

by food cues are stronger in people who are susceptible to obesity. “It

became related to our research because, many people are triggered because of food

because of the net taste.

 5

As mentioned in (Bhaskar, May-June 2012)”Junk refer to fast food which

are easy to make and easy to consume. Michael Jacobson aptly coins the
phrase junk food in 1972 as slang for foods of useless or low nutritional value.
Junk food so called HFSS (High fat, sugar or salt). Various type of Junk food
that available in restaurants is cold-drinks, pizza, burger, and sandwich etc.
The number of fast food restaurants and chain is increasing because people
around the world like to eat junk food .USA, Canada, Britain, Australia, Japan,
Sweden etc. are the countries with most junk food consumption around the
world. Junk food is more popular because of experience of great taste, better
shelf life and easy transportation.   But it should be avoided, because of lack
of energy, high cholesterol and poor concentration. It causes a lot of harmful
effect on the body like obesity, diabetes, heart disease and various types of
skin cancers. Eliminating the temptation for junk food and developing the
awareness for fitness can be helping in avoid the junk food from the healthy
diet regimen.”There are many people who like to eat junk food around
the world because of the taste that people like because of this they
always look for junk food but there are many bad effects on the body so
it should be avoided.

As mentioned in (willner, 2023) “Cravings for junk food are common

reasons people ‘fall off the wagon’ with their healthy-eating plans. They
can lead to unhealthy eating habits and be one of the biggest obstacles to
weight loss. As surprising as it might sound, it’s possible to reverse these
cravings so you stop eating junk food and start craving healthy food – or
have no cravings at all. This change doesn’t happen overnight, but it’s
achievable over time by moving towards a way of eating based primarily
on eating natural foods, having plenty of protein and healthy fats, and
reducing your consumption of highly-processed carbohydrates (crisps,
cakes, biscuits, etc.).It sounds easier said than done, which is why a lot of
the secret is finding recipes that you genuinely love, that are easy to make
and don’t lead to further junk-food cravings because they’re based on real
food.”More people choose junk food than healthy foods because junk food is
spreading and becoming more popular, more and more people eat junk food and
choose it more than healthy food, so it is better to choose to crave healthy food for the
good of our body.

As mentioned in (Solutions, 2021)”The scary part is that food addiction is

similar to substance abuse disorders or drug addiction. It is real, and it’s
 6

a hard habit to break, no matter how hard some people try. This article
is all about food addiction and how to overcome it.” Eating junk food can
no longer be stopped because they are used to it in their daily eating they need to stop
it because it has a bad effect we must still balance what we eat also eat nutritious food
and avoid sometimes food can harm our body.

As mentioned in (Medicine, 2023)”Food provides needed sustenance and

adds a gratification factor through various tastes, smells, textures, etc.

However, for many individuals, food addiction can become as serious as

drugs are to a substance abuser. For men and women suffering from an

addiction to food, highly palatable foods (often rich in fat, sugar, and salt)

trigger chemical reactions in the brain that induce pleasure and

satisfaction.” Food addicts become dependent upon the "good" feelings

from consuming certain foods, which often perpetuates a continued need

to eat, even when not [Link] if they are not hungry yet they are still

looking for it because of the quality of junk food such as the taste smell
etc. and because of this they always like it and look for it in their daily
meals.

To warn students who always eat too much junk food to reduce their
eating because of the bad effects on the body when you eat too much
junk foods. And we want to know the effects on the body of eating too
much junk foods so we can know if eating too much junk foods can be
harmful or good.
 7

Theoretical Framework

In order to explain why the research problem of this study exists and

provide an evaluation and explanation on the relationship of the concepts in

this research study, the following theories are presented and discussed.

(#1) Theory of The Theory of BF Skinner: Operant Conditioning

As stated in (Saul Mcleod, 1948)” Skinner is regarded as the father of

Operant Conditioning, but his work was based on Thorndike’s (1898) law of

effect. According to this principle, behavior that is followed by pleasant

consequences is likely to be repeated, and behavior followed by unpleasant

consequences is less likely to be repeated.

Skinner introduced a new term into the Law of Effect – Reinforcement.

behavior which is reinforced tends to be repeated (i.e., strengthened);

behavior which is not reinforced tends to die out-or be extinguished (i.e.,

weakened).”their behavior changes because they always want to eat junk

food repeatedly.

(#2) The Theory of Classical Conditioning :

As stated in (Pavlov., N.D.)”Refers to learning that occurs when a neutral

stimulus (e.g., a tone) becomes associated with a stimulus (e.g., food) that

naturally produces a behaviour. After the association is learned, the

previously neutral stimulus is sufficient to produce the behaviour.” when your

 8

body is used to always eating junk food you will have a behavior that
you will always look for junk food

(#3) The Theory of Planned Behavior

As stated in (Behavior, [Link], 1980) “(TPB) started as the

Theory of Reasoned Action in 1980 to predict an individual's intention to

engage in a behavior at a specific time and place. The theory was intended to

explain all behaviors over which people have the ability to exert self-control.

The key component to this model is behavioral intent; behavioral intentions

are influenced by the attitude about the likelihood that the behavior will have

the expected outcome and the subjective evaluation of the risks and benefits

of that outcome.” other people who have self-control because they know

the effect that eating junk food is bad for the body but they already like
it and even though it is bad for the body, they still don't stop their
behavior of eating junk food.

Conceptual Framework

This conceptual framework will explain the connection of variables used in this

research. It is composed of two variables the independent and dependent variables.

Our independent variable list is consisting of (1) Profile of respondents (Weight,

Gender, Age, Budget, Cravings). (2) Personal behavior factors (Eating
habits, Peers influence, Stress reliever, Food choice, Taste preference).
(3) Economic Factors (Cravings, Affordable, Famous, Availability,
Advertising influence). (4) Home Environment Factors (Family eating
pattern, Family bonding, Family influence, Family habit, Food Preference).
 9

Our Dependent variable list is consisting of HEALTH CONDITION

BMI
- Below 18.5 – you're in the underweight range.

- Between 18.5 and 24.9 – you're in the healthy weight range.

- Between 25 and 29.9 – you're in the overweight range.

- 30 or over – you're in the obese range.

Research Paradigm

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

I. Profile of respondents HEALTH CONDITION

- Weight BMI
- Gender
- Below 18.5 – you're in the
- Age underweight range.
- Budget
- Cravings
10
 11

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the addiction of eating junk food effect on

health condition of Grade 11 Home Economics. Upland Integrated National

High School during the second semester of the school year 2020-2023.

Specifically, the study sought to answer the following research questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of:

- Weight
- Gender
- Age
- Budget
- Cravings
2. Which of the Parental Involvement related factors is/are considered by

the respondents as having the greatest effect in their class

performance?

Personal Behavior Factors

- Eating habits
- Peers influence
- Stress reliever
- Food choice
- Taste preference

Figure 1 This Conceptual Framework diagram presents the Independent

Variables which is composed of Junk food addiction and the Dependent
3. Which
Variable which is theofhealthy
the Home Environmental
condition related factors is/are considered by
of a student.

the respondents as having the greatest effect in their class performance?

Economic Factors

- Cravings
- Affordable
 12

- Famous
- Availability
- Advertising influence

4. Which of the Student Attitude related factors is/are considered by the

respondents as having the greatest effect in their class performance?

Home Environment Factors

- Family eating pattern

- Family bonding
- Family influence
- Family habit
- Food Preference
5. “What is the overall health status of grade 11 Home economics student”

6. What is the overall effect of Junk food addiction to the healthy condition of

Home Economics 11 students?

Significance of the Study

The researchers identified the following people as those who will benefit

from the results and findings of this research undertaking:

Parents. What we think will benefit is that their children who

consume too much junk food can be prevented because they will know
the possible effect if they continue to eat junk food repeatedly every
day.
 13

School.

What we thought would be possible benefits to the school for those

who eat too much junk food and will add to the students' knowledge
that it is bad when they eat too much junk food, this is a big benefit to
the school because when the students have a healthy body they will be
active and the teacher will not worry about them because they have a
healthy body.

This study has the following scope and delimitation to guide the

readers of this paper on the parameters of this research work:

This study aims to warn the students that always eat junk food to

prevent the effect on the health condition of students if they continue to

always eat junk food. It covers the following variables: Independent variable is

Health status of students and Dependent variable is addiction of eating junk

foods. Its respondents are the 7 students of Grade 11 Home Economics. Who

are selected based on our observation that they are always like to eat junk

food. Upland Integrated National High School is the research locale. The data

in this research will cover 2nd Semester, School year 2022-2023. This

research study will be conducted from March to June 2022.

The research will be conducted using qualitative research design that

is descriptive research, specifically, this is a phenomenological study that will

find real data based on our topic junk food addiction and we will determine
 14

why it is not good to eat junk food and we will interview the respondents being

a researcher we will ask them honestly and correctly.

This research study has the following delimitations: (1) It will not

include this/these objective/s the study of the causes nor the symptoms of the

research topic in this thesis.; (2) The following question are not included in

this study: What are the causes of junk food addiction and? What are the

symptoms of junk food addiction. ; (3) These variables are not included in this

research work: variables concerning the business involved in selling junk food

; variables related to the chemical component of junk food; and variables

related to the cure on the effects of eating too much junk food. and (4) This

analysis technique, of the use of statistical method of analysis will not be used

in this research work.

Definition of Terms

In order to assist the readers in understanding the content of this

research work, the definition of the following words is enumerated:

Age. Either the male or female division of a species, especially as

differentiated by social and cultural roles and behavior. (merriam-

[Link])

Gender. This word refers to the state of being male or female of the

chosen respondents from the identified grade level and section.