Eating Habits and Nutritional Literacy

Across the Philippines, poor dietary habits and low nutrition literacy have become pressing concerns, particularly among children and adolescents. As the country continues to face rising rates of malnutrition and diet-related illnesses, it becomes crucial to understand not just what young people eat, but why they make those choices. With increasing access to fast food, misleading nutrition information online, and uneven implementation of health education programs in schools, Filipino youth are growing up in an environment that often works against healthy eating. This calls for a deeper investigation into the role of nutritional literacy — how knowledge, behavior, and environment converge to shape food choices and long-term health outcomes.

Who Can Use These Topics

This research is ideal for students and professionals pursuing the following courses or strands:

College Programs:

• BS in Nutrition and Dietetics

• BS in Public Health

• BS in Nursing

• BS in Community Development

• BA/BS in Psychology (Health Psychology or Behavioral Science track)

• BS in Education (Major in MAPEH or Health Education)

• BS in Social Work

Senior High School Strands:

• Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS)

• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)

• TVL - HE (Home Economics)

• Accountancy, Business, and Management (ABM)

• General Academic Strand (GAS)

Why This Topic Needs Research

There is growing academic interest in nutrition literacy and eating behavior, yet several research gaps remain unresolved:

• Limited evaluation of school-based interventions: Although the study confirmed links between eating habits and academic performance, it did not assess how structured school nutrition programs influence long-term literacy and outcomes across socio-economic classes (Munda & Del Pilar, 2023).

• Lack of causal and longitudinal data in urban poor settings: The impact of structured nutrition education was not tested over time or within marginalized urban communities, limiting insight into sustainable behavior change (Catapang, 2022).

• Underexplored developmental and emotional outcomes: While literacy levels were measured, the study did not examine how nutrition knowledge influences emotional, behavioral, or cognitive development in children (Arenasa et al., 2024).

• Neglect of social and environmental mediators: Studies often overlook how family support, peer influence, and school infrastructure shape the success of nutrition programs, especially in low-income areas (Fikroh et al., 2025).

• Insufficient focus on older youth and university students: Despite finding correlations between nutrition literacy and eating behavior, there was no exploration of long-term effectiveness in shaping sustainable habits among college-age populations (Mostafazadeh et al., 2024).

• Overlooked barriers in food-insecure households: While maternal literacy was shown to influence children's diets, psychological and structural barriers that prevent healthy choices were not deeply examined (Hashemzadeh et al., 2024).

• Lack of intervention-based studies in adolescent settings: The relationship between digital education tools, parental involvement, and curriculum support was not evaluated for its role in strengthening healthy behavior (Taleb & Itani, 2021).

Feasibility & Challenges by Target Group

Get Your Free Thesis Title

Finding a well-structured quantitative research topic can be challenging, but I am here to assist you.

✔ Expertly Curated Topics – Not AI-generated, but carefully developed based on existing academic studies and research trends.
✔ Comprehensive Research Support – Includes an existed and updated research gaps, explanation of variables as well as SDG relevance.
✔ Personalized for Your Field – Get a thesis title tailored to your academic requirements and research interests.

Prefer video content? Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for expert insights on research topics, methodologies, and academic writing strategies.

References

Arenasa, L., Baul, J., Bustillos, V. J., & Bacatan, J. (2024). Correlational Analysis of Food and Nutrition Literacy and Academic Performance among Intermediate-Level Students. International Journal of Innovative Research in Multidisciplinary Education, 3(8), 1370-1376.

Catapang, A. N. C. (2022). Relationship among nutrition knowledge, dietary habits and nutritional status of senior high school students in Florentino Torres High School, Tondo, Manila, Philippines.

Fikroh, Y. U., Nurjanah, N., Rimawati, E., Yuantari, M. C., & Khoironi, A. (2025). The influence of nutritional literacy and adolescent eating habits: A literature review. Science Midwifery, 13(1), 161-169.

Hashemzadeh, M., Akhlaghi, M., Akbarzadeh, M., Nabizadeh, K., Miri, H. H., & Kazemi, A. (2024). Nutrition literacy and eating habits in children from food-secure versus food-insecure households: A cross-sectional study. Medicine, 103(39), e39812.

Mostafazadeh, P., Jafari, M. J., Mojebi, M. R., Nemati-Vakilabad, R., & Mirzaei, A. (2024). Assessing the relationship between nutrition literacy and eating behaviors among nursing students: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 24(1), 18.

Munda, N. P., & Del Pilar, L. D. D. (2023). Eating Habits, Nutrition Literacy, and Mathematics Performance of Junior High School Students. International Journal of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, 3(2), 20-38.

Taleb, S., & Itani, L. (2021). Nutrition literacy among adolescents and its association with eating habits and BMI in Tripoli, Lebanon. Diseases, 9(2), 25.

Be my Partner

realynmanalo117@gmail.com