A research on the consumption trends of sugary beverage for the university students: Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University case study

In recent years, many studies have been conducted on the consumption of sugary beverages and their effects on human health worldwide. In these studies, it was determined that the consumption of sugary beverages can cause many important diseases such as obesity, heart diseases, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. Sugary beverages include additive sugars such as non natural sweeteners, fruit concentrates and corn syrup which are detrimental to human health. Children and young people constitute the biggest risk group against factors such as stress, family life, and social media on sugary beverages consumption. While university life offers students a free life, it also brings with it many stress factors such as being separated from the family, getting used to living alone or together, anxiety about passing exams and lessons. This situation causes significant changes in both the lifestyle and nutrition behaviors of students. Thus, this study aims not only to determine the trends and influential factors of sugary beverage consumption among university students but also to evaluate their awareness about this issue. In this study, a survey was conducted with 385 university students studying at Tekirdag Namık Kemal University. The data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed by chi square and t-test with the help of the differences in students' tendency to drink sugary beverages drinks. In addition, the factors that affect students' tendency to consume sugary beverages have been included in the models as independent variables in Binary Logistic Regression Analysis.