SOCIO-CULTURAL PARAMETERS INFLUENCING MEAT CONSUMPTION PATTERNS AMONG UNDERGRADUATES IN SRI LANKA

Abstract

Meat is a primary source of protein. The market offers two major types of meat: raw and processed. Undergraduates with tight schedules of academic and extracurricular activities pay little attention to nutrition. The consumption of meat and meat related products among the undergraduates of Sri Lanka has rarely merely been discussed. Especially, studies about the effect of socio-cultural parameters on undergraduate meat and meat product consumption are rare. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of several socio-cultural parameters on the consumption pattern of meat and meat related products among undergraduates with 203 randomly selected undergraduates from all six faculties of Wayamba University of Sri Lanka. Data analysis was done by using Microsoft Office Excel 2021 and chi-square test of R statistical software. Out of the total respondents, n = 164 (80.9%) were meat consumers, whereas n = 38 (19.1%) were non-meat consumers. Moreover, among all meat consumers n = 128 (78.8%) respondents consumed both raw and processed meat types, while n = 23 (14.5%) consumed only processed meat, and n = 11 (6.7%) consumed only raw meat. The chi-square results of the study suggested that both raw and processed meat consumption has no significant effect (p > 0.05) from gender (χ² = 0.212, p = 0.900). Similarly, this study showed neither the economic status of the family (χ² = 14.393, p = 0.881), nor the engagement in a part-time job (χ² = 0.254 p = 0.156) has a significant effect (p > 0.05) on meat and meat product consumption among undergraduates. Out of all the tested socio-cultural parameters, it is inevitable to conclude that meat consumption was significantly influenced (p < 0.05) by religion (χ² = 24.570, p = 0.0004). Health concerns due to the presence of a high amount of sodium and saturated fats in processed meat were reasoned by non-consumers of processed meat as the justification for their decision. Religion was a significant factor among undergraduates to have concerns on meat and meat product consumption. Rejecting processed meat suggested that undergraduates have a considerable health concern about themselves.