Effect of Educational Intervention as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Intake of Junk Food, Sugar-sweetened Beverages and Energy Drinks among Medical Students from India: A Prospective Interventional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Junk food intake has increased many folds in the last two decades. India is still struggling with communicable diseases, though the incidence of non communicable diseases, including metabolic syndrome, has increased several times in the younger age group. There is a scarcity of data and a limited number of international studies on decreasing junk food intake, especially in India. Aim: To assess eating habits, nutritional status, and the effect of behavioural therapy on junk food intake in medical undergraduate students. Materials and Methods: A prospective interventional study was conducted in medical students of a tertiary care hospital in Northern India (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, SGT University, Haryana, India) over a duration of six months, from October 2021 to March 2022. All students were given a pretest in the form of an electronic questionnaire. Students then received four educational sessions based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), one session per week, each lasting 30 minutes. At the end of the four sessions, all students were assessed through a post-test following the same protocol as the pretest. Statistical analysis was conducted using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28.0 The Wilcoxon's signed-rank test was applied for comparison within pre and post-interventions. Results: Most of the students, 302 (68%), included in the study were less than 20 years of age, with a minimum age of 17 years and a maximum age of 25 years. A total of 443 students were included in the study. Of these, 178 out of 443 had a Body Mass Index (BMI)>25 kg/m2, classifying them as overweight (40.18%). The majority of students were not aware of the major side effects of junk food intake, but a significant improvement was noted in the post-test conducted four weeks later. A significant change (p<0.0001) was observed in the frequency of intake of junk food, sugar-sweetened beverages, and energy drinks, decreasing significantly after the four educational sessions. Conclusion: Short educational intervention programs, as part of cognitive-behavioural theory, have a significant impact on improving awareness and reducing the intake of junk food. More studies of longer duration and involving other components of CBT should be conducted to assess their impact on physical and mental health.