Research Title: The Eating and Dietary Habits of STEM students of Liceo

De La Salle during the Pandemic

Theoretical Framework:

The study was anchored on two (2) theories, the Theory of Planned
Behavior, and the Homeostatic theory of Obesity. First, is the Theory of
Planned Behavior where it talks about understanding and predicting
behaviors that submit that behaviors are immediately regulated by
behavioral intentions and under certain circumstances, perceived
behavioral control. This leads us, to link it to the eating habits of the
STEM students during the pandemic. The dietary style of STEM
students of Liceo De La Salle appears to be changing during the
pandemic due to their prolonged stay in their house for many
consecutive months. By the reason of the sudden outbreak, they are
left with no choice but to stay indoors to lessen the risk of being
infected, and because of this, some of the young are having a hard time
coping up and adjusting which leads to affecting their mental health.
Some either eat too much or too little. Whether the students are
overeating or not eating enough, they seem to use food to feel better
or to cope with the struggle of what they are going through
(Albers,2000). Also, the Theory of Planned Behavior speaks about
perceived behavioral control, which guides us to binding it on how
STEM students respond to their current situation knowing the fact that
they are staying home and with nothing to do since classes were
delayed, with that, they are practicing on recognizing their behavior
towards their situation, may it be boredom, stress, loneliness, etc. We
propose that state boredom increases eating in an attempt to distract
from this experience, especially among people high in objective self-
awareness (Moynihan, et al.,2015).

The study also made use of the Homeostatic theory of Obesity, this
mainly focuses on maintaining equilibrium in one’s health and how an
imbalance can be the cause of weight gain, body dissatisfaction, and
over consumption. Eating habits, may it be unhealthy or healthy, affects
the body in different ways, and can affect a person’s overall wellness.
Coping with what’s happening around can be hard for some people and
food can be the only comfort they can find which can possibly lead to
having excessive consumption then weight gain and would eventually
be the cause of being dissatisfied with the result to the body. Body
dissatisfaction can lead to anorexia and excessive exercise and not the
consumption of high energy foods (Delahanty, et.al., 2016). According
to the psychology of eating, having better food choices can control
one’s unnecessary cravings and can make a person feel calm and
energized. Moreover, this theory can be a help in determining whether
the STEM students of Liceo De La Salle can maintain equilibrium in their
overall wellness given the situation of the world and their own eating
and dietary habits at home. Achieving a balance in one’s health,
thinking it to be hard would only lead to laziness, push yourself but
don’t force it. You probably have a list of things you know you should
do for a healthier diet but, again, making too many changes at once can
backfire (Waehner, 2020).

references:
Moynihan, A. B., van Tilburg, W. A., Igou, E. R., Wisman, A., Donnelly, A. E., & Mulcaire, J. B. (2015).
Eaten up by boredom: consuming food to escape awareness of the bored self. Frontiers in psychology, 6,
369.retreived from https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00369

Uscher, J. (n.d.). 3 Food Traps to Avoid When You're Depressed. retrieved from
https://www.webmd.com/depression/features/depression-food-traps#1

LaMorte, W. (2019). Behavioral Change Models. The Theory of Planned Behavior. retreived from
https://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otlt/MPH-
Modules/SB/BehavioralChangeTheories/BehavioralChangeTheories3.html

Marks, D. (2015). Homeostatic theory of obesity. Retrieved

from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5193276/#!po=0.201613

DiClemente, C., & Delahanty, J. (2016). Homeostasis and change: A commentary on the
Homeostatic Theory of Obesity by David Marks. Retrieved
from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5193250/

The Psychology of eating. (2020). Retrieved

from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/10681-the-psychology-of-eating
Waehner, P. (2020). How to Live a Healthier Lifestyle. Retrieved
from https://www.verywellfit.com/simple-ways-to-live-a-healthy-lifestyle-1231193