Impact of Online Purchase of Food Items on Diet Pattern of Adults between 25-35 Years of Age in Central Mumbai

Abstract

In the context of online purchasing of Grocery and other food items it was observed that the major advantage was the ability to purchase things from any location at any time with convenience and reduced use of time which made it more practical than visiting stores and very easy. Objectives:- To know the type and quantity of food purchased online and assess the effect of online food purchasing on body composition and Body Mass Index. Methodology:- The respondents being studied belonged to the age group of 25-35 years, the samples were selected by purposive random sampling. The number of participants were 100. Food frequency questionnaire was the tool used and The frequency of the food products that the participants purchase online and consume included categories such as groceries, frozen food, canned foods, ready to cook meals, packaged foods, chocolates and candies, desserts, jams and conserves, beverages, fast food. Results:- It was observed from BMI (Body Mass Index) that 23% of the participants were overweight and 51% of were Pre obese indicating that their consumption of processed energy dense food was high. It was observed that more than (50%) participants preferred to Purchase food items online on a monthly basis and (28%) preferred it on a weekly basis. Thus Indicating that the participants are used to purchasing food items online and find it more convenient Than offline shopping. When BMI was correlated with the frequency of Online purchase of food items it was not significant (p-value=0.29). Also participants mostly preferred to purchase Fast food (34%) online followed by Grocery (29%) on the other hand the least purchased food item Was frozen food indicating that the consumption of Frozen food is not much. The difference in Percentage of Body Mass Index (BMI) in relation to the purchase of groceries and other food items was not significant (p-value= 0.43). It was also noted that (41%) of the participants gained weight after purchasing food items online however there was no significant relation in the BMI and weight status of the respondents.