A Study on Chocolate Consumption in Prospective Teachers

This study was planned and conducted to determine the chocolate consumption habits of prospective teachers. The study population was comprised of students attending the Faculty of Education at Gazi University in Ankara and the sample consisted of 251 prospective teachers selected with simple random sampling. 96.4 % and 3.6 % of the prospective teachers were aged 19-35 and 25-30, respectively. In the study, 91.1 % of the female prospective teachers and 75.3 % of the male prospective teachers agreed with the statement chocolate consumption is good for cardiovascular diseases, while 4.1 % of the female prospective teachers and 8.6 % of the male prospective teachers disagreed. 77.1 % of the female prospective teachers and 27.2 % of the male prospective teachers agreed with the statement daily chocolate consumption lowers the blood pressure, while 15.3 % of the female prospective teachers, and 55.6 % of the male prospective teachers disagreed (x 2 =58.583, p<0.05). 59.4 % of the female prospective teachers, and 37.0 % of the male prospective teachers agreed with the statement eating chocolate reduces my depression, while 35.9 % of the female prospective teachers, and 46.9 % of the male prospective teachers disagreed (x 2 =11.056, p<0.05). In addition, the female prospective teachers preferred to eat dark chocolate, chocolate with mixed nuts, flavored chocolate and liquor-filled chocolate more frequently than the male prospective teachers (p<0.05). In conclusion, the female prospective teachers were more attentive and conscious than the male prospective teachers in their chocolate consumption.