ABSTRAC
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JUNK FOOD CONSUMPTION AND SYMPTOMS OF GASTRITIS AMONG STUDENTS MUHAMMADIYAH UNIVERSITY OF PONOROGO
In The Bachelor Of Nursing Program Faculty Of Health Science
By : Nur Rohmah Wahyu NingTias
Junk food consumption among college students tends to increase as academic activities become more demanding and time for preparing healthy meals becomes limited; meanwhile, irregular eating patterns are cited as one of the triggers of gastritis symptoms in people of working age. This phenomenon is important to study among nursing students, who face heavy academic and clinical practice workloads, yet its relationship with gastritis symptoms has not been extensively researched. This study aims to determine the relationship between junk food consumption and gastritis symptoms among undergraduate nursing students at Muhammadiyah University of Ponorogo. A descriptive-analytical quantitative design with a cross-sectional approach was used on 214 respondents from a population of 454 students selected using a proportionate stratified sampling technique based on semester, combined with voluntary sampling. Junk food consumption was measured using the Junk Food Intake Measure (JFIM) questionnaire, and gastritis symptoms were measured using the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS). Data were analyzed using the chi-square test with α = 0.05. The results showed that 57.9% of respondents had a high-junk-food diet and 35% experienced severe gastritis symptoms. The chi-square test yielded a p-value of 0.001 (p < 0.05), indicating a significant association between the two variables. These findings suggest that a high-junk-food diet is not the sole cause of gastritis symptoms; therefore, other factors, such as stress and a history of stomach disorders, should be considered.

Keywords: dietary patterns, junk food, gastritis symptoms, nursing students