Convenience food consumption pattern and its role on body composition, quality of life and sleep index

Kuppuswamy, Anusuya Devi and Murugesan, Harinivashini and Saravanakumar, Suji Akshyni and Selvan, Kalai Selvi Muthamil and Kumar, Avanthika Senthil and Sakthivel, Inika and Kulanthaivelan, Kavya and Natarajan, Praveen (2025) Convenience food consumption pattern and its role on body composition, quality of life and sleep index. Open Access Research Journal of Life Sciences, 9 (2). 012-024. ISSN 2783-025X

Background: The study examined the attitudes and consumer behavior of Coimbatore’s youth towards convenience foods and attempts to associate their dietary habits with body composition metrics (weight, waist, and body fat), sleep, and quality of life (QoL). Methodology: A cross-sectional and quantitative study was carried out using structured questionnaires on 601 participants selected randomly. The structured questionnaires collected information on the demographic and anthropometric characteristics, dietary habits, sleep quality, and quality of life (QoL) with WHOQOL-BREF. Excel and JASP were used to analyses the data. Result: A dietary pattern was significantly correlated with one’s physical health. Consumption of fat spreads and ready-to-eat savories was positively associated with BMI and waist circumference, while consumption of fruit-based drinks was negatively associated (p < 0.05). A weak positive correlation was noted with the consumption of crackers. Differences in waist-to-hip ratio, body fat (p ≤ 0.1%), and QoL (p < 0.05) were significant by the Mann-Whitney U test. There were strong correlations between BMI and body fat (r > 0.8), waist circumference and weight (r > 0.7), and sleep quality with greater adiposity (r > 0.5). QoL did not appear influenced by body metrics, indicating greater emotional and social factors. Conclusion: In Coimbatore, young adults had a strong preference for convenience foods which affect weight, waist circumference, and body fat. These dietary habits are also associated with sleep quality but do not directly impact QoL, which is predominantly determined by psychosocial factors.