Abstract:
Compared to past decades, there is a notable rise
in social media influencers and content creators
who
focus
on
food-related
content.
Simultaneously, the number of viewers who
interact with food-related content also increases.
Along with the rise of food-related content in
social media, the prevalence of eating disorders
and poor dietary choices also increased in young
adults. Literature exhibits the gap in assessing the
impact of FRPs (food-related posts) based on the
Sri Lankan context. This study intends to analyze
the frequency of exposure to FRPs and their
effects on eating habits, food choices, and food
cravings among university undergraduates in Sri
Lanka. In this regard, an online survey based on
the Google Forms platform was conducted to
collect the relevant data. Correlation analysis and
the 𝜒2(5% significance level) were chosen to
evaluate the association between variables. Some
396 university undergraduates (female=68.9% &
male=31.1%) between the age of 18-42
participated in the study. As per the results, the
frequency of exposure to FRPs is notably high
where the exposure to FRPs is associated with the
number of social media accounts. Results indicate
the popular site for watching FRPs is YouTube
(63.13%) and the highly preferred contents were
reviews on street food places, snacks and desserts,
and food preparation videos. The study reports a
significant effect due to FRPs on eating habits and
food choices than food cravings from the analysis
(p value<0.05). The impacts of FRPs might be
positive and negative an equal ratio (73.7%) of
participants' views.
