Pilot Study: The Impact of Vegetarianism and Meat Eating on Health
Introduction
Measuring the impact of vegetarian and meat eating on health involves the consideration of health indicators in the questionnaire in order to determine the overall health status of vegetarian and meat eating people as basis for comparison. Overall health status covers the physical and mental or psychological aspects of people.
Questionnaire Design [See Appendix for the Questionnaire]
The questionnaire covers four parts. The first part seeks to determine the independent variables surrounding the food intake preferences of the participants such as name, which is optional, age, gender and economic status. The last three variables provide a very important context to the food diet of the research participants since these could indicate the propensity of people to prefer vegetarianism to eating meat as part of daily diet. These variables could also explain similarities and differences in the answers provided by the research participants.
The second part involves the lifestyle characteristics of the research participants. This includes questions on the possible habits of the participants such as smoking, drinking and substance abuse that could influence their health status regardless of their food diet preference. This part also includes the question on the food intake preferences, as either vegetarian or meat eating, together with the question of when the research participants assumed their food diet preferences. This part determines similarities and differences in the lifestyle of vegetarians and meat eaters that could indicate or explain the nature and extent of the similarities and differences among the health status of the research participants.
The third part covers the physical health of the research participants. Physical health is measured through their current weight, records of hospitalization or treatment for injuries and illnesses, and the physical activities engaged in by the participants. This part also asks the research participants about the specific injuries or illnesses that caused the need for hospitalization or treatment. These follow-up questions determine whether the injuries or illness sustained are diet related or not. Another follow-up question on the type of physical activity and the extent of engagement in the physical activity of the research participants to determine their level of health based on the assumption that greater levels of health allows people to engage more extensively in their choice of physical activities.
The fourth part covers the mental or psychological health of the research participants. This portion covers questions on the self-rating of health status, self-esteem linked to health status, self-rating of level of stress, and the perceived level of stress coping mechanisms. These questions are designed to determine the manner that the research participants view themselves in relation to their food diet preference. The self-rating questions allow the researchers to determine the extent of the personal outlook of the individuals about themselves as linked to their food intake. The questions on stress offer the researchers to gain insight into the nature of the relationship between food intake and psychological health. Population Parameters
Population of the study comprise university students. However, since there is no available statistics on the ration of vegetarian students relative to the meat eating population, there is initial need to determine the number in order to derive a representative research population in case of a sizable number or tap them as research participants in case of a limited number of vegetarians on campus. The final number of research participants in the actual study, comprised of an equal number of vegetarian and meat eating students, would depend upon the number of vegetarian people surveyed to be enrolled in the university. The pilot study determines two things, one is the population of the final study and the other is the viability of the health status questionnaire.
It would be impossible to float questionnaires to the whole university population due to the number of students enrolled. However, in order to gain high degrees of representation from different student groups and a wide scope of test population, the pilot questionnaire was floated randomly in the different colleges and departments. Overall, the researchers randomly floated 1000 pilot questionnaires all over campus. Normally, the pilot study population comprise a representative portion of the final pool of research participants. However, to achieve the goal of the pilot study of determining an estimate of the number of the vegetarian students on campus, the number pilot study participants are greater that the final research participants.
Initially, the random sampling method ( 2001), worked for the purpose of determining the final pool of research participants but in the final study purposive sampling ( 2001) was used because of the research requirement of having a selected pool of participants based on food intake preferences. Random method of selecting participants was used to determine the number of vegetarian students or the ratio of vegetarian to meat eating students in the university. The result would determine the final population for the study through the application of purposive sampling.
Pilot Study Results
Questionnaire Return rate
Out of the 1000 questionnaires floated around campus, only 750 returned or returned with significant answers that the researchers could use. A 75 percent return rate for questionnaires is overall acceptable since the people who never returned the questionnaire or returned the questionnaires without relevant answers are spread throughout the different colleges or divisions. This means that the goal of achieving a wide range of respondents and representation for different student groups was still achieved. However, people who did not return the questionnaire or returned it without completing the answers could indicate something about the viability of the questionnaire.
Based on a perusal of the questionnaires with incomplete answers, majority of the questionnaires with incomplete answers lacked answers on the space provided for name. This indicates that there was hesitation or unwillingness on the part of the respondents to divulge their names most probably because of the apprehension that doing so would link their names to their answers particularly on the questions about lifestyle. This assumption is supported by the fact that most of the questionnaires without any names given also skipped on the first three questions about lifestyle, particularly on smoking, drinking and illicit drug intake habits. This implies that it would be better for the questionnaire not to ask the names of the respondents in order to allay any initial concerns about the confidentiality of the answers. It would also help if in floating the final questionnaire, respondents will first be assured of the purpose of the study and the confidentiality of the results to ensure their full cooperation. Doing these would increase the return of the questionnaires and increase the return rate for the final study.
Personal Information
In considering the 750 questionnaires returned to the researchers, it was determined that in terms of gender, majority of the respondents were females with 55 percent and the remaining 45 percent comprised of male respondents. Although, there are more females than males, the distribution of respondents across the genders represents sufficient representation based on gender. With regard to age, the respondents fall under the age range of 19 to 23 years of age with 70 percent of the respondents falling under the mean age between 20 to 21 years of age. In relation to economic status, 65 percent of the respondents answered that they belong to middle class families, 20 percent answered that they are members of low income families, and the remaining 15 percent answered that they belong to upper income class families.
The results showed that with the exception of the name query, the part asking for the personal information of the respondents was able to draw socio-demographic similarities and differences across the respondent pool which is important as contextual background for the answers and as rationale for the answers in the succeeding portions. The socio-demographic trend would support and explain results of the physical and mental health status of vegetarians and meat eaters.
Lifestyle
Answers to the lifestyle portion indicate that 63 percent answered that they smoke. Out of this percentage, majority either smoke several times a month or occasionally. Although, a large percentage of the respondents smoke, majority smoke only on occasion or a few times every month. In addition, 72 percent of respondents answered that they drink alcohol. Of this percentage, majority are concentrated in the mean answers of drinking a few times a week, several times a month or occasionally. Although, most of the respondents drink alcohol, the level of intake is controlled. Moreover, 13 percent of the respondents admitted to illicit drug use. From this percentage, respondents are almost spread across the different answers but the highest percentage was attributed to illicit drug intake a few times a week followed by occasionally. This means that the extent of illicit drug intake cannot be generalized for the pilot study population. The results from these answers show that the questions were able to elicit information on the lifestyle of the respondents to draw generalization as well as the lack of basis for generalizations.
Answers to the question on food diet shows that 11.07 percent or 83 of the 750 respondents are vegetarians. This translates to a 1 in 10 ratio of vegetarian to meat eaters. In terms of the time when the vegetarian food diet was started, 79 percent of the vegetarian respondents answered that they been vegetarians since childhood implying family influence as the factor for the preference, 15 percent answered that they become vegetarians when they entered college implying the influence of peers, and the remaining 6 percent became vegetarians in high school indicating peer influence or conscious choice to loose weight. Again, the questions suffice to provide researchers with a background on vegetarianism.
Physical Health
Comparative statistics of the answers provided by vegetarians and meat eaters indicate similarities and differences. In terms of current weight, majority of vegetarians and meat eaters, fall under the average weight category but of the remaining number there is a significant number of meat eaters falling under overweight category. In terms of hospitalization for injuries, majority of vegetarians and meat eaters answered no. Out of the people who answered yes, common causes for the injuries of both vegetarians and meat eaters are slips and falls and vehicular accidents. With regard to hospitalization or treatment for illnesses, again majority of respondents answered no. Causes for hospitalization varied from diarrhoea to food poisoning to asthma but the ration for hospitalization of vegetarian and meat eater respondents weighed greater for meat eaters. With regard to physical activity, there is a significant difference between the physical activity engaged in by vegetarians and meat eaters and the extent of engagement in the activity. This portion of the questionnaire was able to determine the existence of differences in the physical health status and the extent of difference in health condition of vegetarian and meat eating respondents.
Mental/Psychological Health
Results of the answers given to the portion measuring the mental or psychological well-being of the respondents show a difference in the rating of the respondents of their current level of health. While 85 percent of vegetarians answered that they are in excellent health, only 65 percent of meat eaters believe they are in excellent health. Concurrently, there were more very satisfactory responses from vegetarians relative to meat eaters in terms of their feelings about their current health status. There were also more meat eaters rating their health status as unsatisfactory relative to vegetarians.
In terms of stress level, majority of the respondents fall under the average to high stress level category implying that vegetarians and meat eaters face similar levels of stress. In terms of the level of coping mechanism for stress, vegetarians showed a higher satisfaction over their coping mechanisms for stress relative to meat eaters with a margin of 21 percent. This means that despite the similar level of stress faced by the respondents, vegetarians significantly have higher satisfaction over their ability to cope with stress.
These results indicate that the questions were able to determine the similarities and differences in the mental health status of vegetarian and meat eater respondents.
Pilot Study Observations & Interviews
Researchers observed most of the respondents answering the questionnaire on the spot. After the questionnaire has been answered, an informal interview was conducted on the time it took for the respondent to answer the question, the clarity of the instructions, clarity of the questions, objection to any questions, layout of the questions, as well as other comments.
With regard to the length of the questionnaire, it was three pages so that respondents initially had a negative reaction to the time its takes to finish the questionnaire but upon explanation that the questionnaire involves a 13 multiple choice questions with some open-ended follow-up questions, most of the respondents approached agreed to complete the questionnaire. In terms of the clarity of the instructions, there were several respondents repelled by the idea of having open-ended questions so that there was need to explain the reason for the explanations. In terms of the clarity of the questions, most of the respondents had no problem understanding the questions and answering it but there are several respondents who felt confused about questions 1 and 2 in part IV on the mental or psychological health status. In terms of any objections to answering any of the particular research questions, no respondent felt in any way offended by the questions except the hesitation to provide an answer to the questions on lifestyle because of the apprehension over the possible implications to them.
Observations and informal interviews ( 1998; 2002) of some of the respondents show the overall viability of the questionnaire in allowing the researchers to gather data on the impact of vegetarianism and meat eating to health.
Conclusions & Recommendations
On the aggregate, the research questionnaire comprises a viable tool in eliciting the data requirements of the study. This is so in the sense that on the technical side, the instructions and questions were overall clear and there were also no strong negative reactions against any of the questions. Questionnaire viability was also supported by the ability of the questions to draw information from the answers given by the respondents relevant to the study.
However, there are also changes that need to be done in the questionnaire and the manner of floating the questionnaire in order to optimize viability. In relation to the questionnaire itself, the space asking for the name should be removed. In addition, question 1 and 2 in part IV on the emotional or psychological health status should be clarified. In terms of the manner of floating the questionnaire, there should be an initial briefing of respondents in order to explain the purpose of the research and the technical aspects of the questionnaire together with the assurance of confidentiality to achieve full participation from the respondents.
References
Appendix
Health Status Questionnaire for the Pilot Study
Instructions: Please fill in the blank items or place a check mark on your chosen answer in the multiple choice questions.
I. Personal Information
Name
Age
Gender
Economic Status
Instructions: Please
II. Lifestyle
1. Do you smoke?
_____Yes _____No
If yes, how often do you smoke?
_____Everyday
_____A few times a week
_____Several times a month
_____Occasionally
_____Sparingly
2. Do you drink alcohol?
_____Yes _____No
If yes, how often do you drink alcohol?
_____Everyday
_____A few times a week
_____Several times a month
_____Occasionally
_____Sparingly
3. Do you take-in illicit drugs?
_____Yes _____No
If yes, how often do you take-in illicit drugs?
_____Everyday
_____A few times a week
_____Several times a month
_____Occasionally
_____Sparingly
4. Describe your type of food diet?
_____Vegetarian _____Meat Eating
5. How long have you engaged in this food diet preference?
_____Since Childhood
_____High School
_____College/University
_____Others, please specify ___________________
III. Physical Health
1. How do you assess your current weight?
_____Extremely Underweight
_____Underweight
_____Average Weight
_____Overweight
_____Obese
2. Have you been hospitalized or treated in the past year for injuries?
_____Yes _____No
If yes, what type of injury caused your hospitalization or treatment?
________________________________________________________________
3. Have you been hospitalized or treated in the past year for illness?
If yes, what type of illness caused your hospitalization or treatment?
________________________________________________________________
4. Do you engage in physical activities?
_____Yes _____No
If yes, what type of physical activities do you engage in?
________________________________________________________________
If yes, how often do you engage in physical activities?
_____Everyday
_____A few times a week
_____Several times a month
_____Occasionally
_____Sparingly
IV. Emotional/Psychological Health
1. How do you rate your current level of health?
_____Excellent Health
_____Good Health
_____Average Health
_____Low Health
_____Poor Health
2. How do you feel about your current level of health?
_____Very Satisfied
_____Satisfied
_____Average
_____Dissatisfied
_____Very Dissatisfied
What are the reasons for your answer?
_______________________________________________________________
3. How do you rate your level of stress?
_____Very Low
_____Low
_____Average
_____High
_____Very High
4. How do you rate your stress coping mechanism?
_____Very Unsatisfactory
_____Unsatisfactory
_____Average
_____Satisfactory
_____Very Satisfactory
What are the reasons for your answer?
_______________________________________________________________
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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