Published Paper Details:

Street food is food that is economical, can be prepared quickly, and is readily available outside the colleges and hostel areas of the various college campuses in Meerut. But rich in calories and high fat and deficient in most nutrients. Due to increased globalization, urbanization, peer influence, changing lifestyle patterns of people, and commercial advertisements as well as excellent street food outlets, college-going girls are getting indulged in eating these types of food. In recent research, it is clear that street food is one of the reasons for metabolic disorders and various non - communicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc. The present study was therefore conducted to check the consumption pattern of street food consumption by college-going girls in Meerut City and also to study the overall impact of street food consumption on their health. 198 college-going girls were randomly selected and assessed by self - administration of a structured questionnaire. The present study revealed that about 51% college going girls regularly consume fried/high-fat street food in the form of kachori, tikki, Pani puri, samosa, chole bhature, etc. and almost 31% of college girls regularly consumed high sugar - based food like cold drinks, sugarcane juice, shakes, etc with the street foods. Most of the college girls revealed that the taste of street food is the sole reason for the consumption of street foods. The present study also revealed that about 23% of college-going girls were having adequate knowledge about the effects of street food consumption on health whereas 42% of college-going girls had insufficient knowledge about the ill effects of street food consumption on health. It is, therefore, necessary to create awareness about the ill effects of fast food and the benefits of a balanced diet for college-going girls.