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The use of caffeine among pupils at second grade of elementary school in Vodnany.
ŠMIDMAJEROVÁ, Edita
This bachelor thesis deals with the consumption of caffeinated beverages by pupils of a secondary school in Vodňany (Czech Republic). Nowadays, the overconsumption of beverages containing caffeine is becoming a big problem among pupils. I chose this topic to find out how many pupils of a regular secondary school drink beverages containing caffeine. This work consists of both a practical as well as a theoretical part. The theoretical part consists of three main chapters. The first part describes the subject, caffeine, the effects caffeine has on the human body as well as caffeine addiction. In the second chapter I investigate products containing caffeine, their ingredients and effects on the human body. The third chapter focuses on the consumption of caffeinated beverages by teenagers. In this chapter I describe the term teenager, their eating habits and explore whether these are appropriate or not. Furthermore, I present studies focused on caffeine consumption based on the age range of the consumers, from toddlers up to the age of thirteen. In the practical part I set two goals. The first is to determine how many pupils of the investigated secondary school drink caffeinated beverages. My second goal is to determine at which occasions they drink these drinks. Furthermore, I establish two research questions and two hypotheses. My first hypothesis assumes that female pupils of the secondary school in question drink in general more caffeinated beverages than male pupils. However, based on the evaluation of the obtained data I found out, that the female pupils do not consume more caffenated drinks than male pupils. My second hypothesis assumes that pupils drink caffeinated beverages more often during the week than on the weekend. But even this hypothesis was not confirmed, as the survey shows that pupils do not consume caffenited drinks more often on weekdays than weekend. Both hypotheses were statistically evaluated using the Excel chi-square test. The working method is described in the practical part. The practical part was carried out using quantitative research methods, i.e. a survey. The survey was anonymous and the questionnaire was for both genders identical. It consisted of 16 questions that focused on the consumption of beverages containing caffeine. The survey consisted of closed, half-closed as well as opened questions. The data were collected at the mentioned secondary school in Vodňany. The questionnaire was given to pupils of the 7th, 8th and 9th grade, aged between 12 and 15 years. In total, 80 questionnaires were distributed among the pupils; the return rate was 100%, as they were distributed duringclass while a teacher was present. The analysis of the questionnaires gave the following results: the most favourite caffeinated beverage among students is coke. The biggest proportion of pupils drinks as much as 0.5 liters per day of coke. The most popular brands of caffeinated beverages are Coca-Cola, Kofola, Monster and Red Bull. Pupils mostlyconsume caffeinated drinks on the weekend with friends or family. My work could be used as a source of information for the general public, or as a basis for further studies of students who are dealing with the issue of caffeine.
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