Survey Design on Diet and Physical Activity in Adolescents
This paper presents the design of a 15-question survey instrument aimed at assessing adherence to healthy dietary habits and physical activity among adolescents. The paper explains the best practices applied in constructing the survey—including simplicity, mutually exclusive response options, avoidance of double-barreled questions, and inclusion of neutral choices—and provides a rationale for each question group based on peer-reviewed literature. It also justifies the selection of simple random sampling as the data-collection method and identifies the adolescent population as the target group, given the significant long-term health consequences of poor diet and inactivity established during these developmental years. The full survey questionnaire is included as an appendix.
- Introduction: Health survey purpose and paper overview
- Best Practices in Survey Design and Question Construction: Key design principles applied to the survey
- Rationale for Question Selection: Why each question group was included
- Survey Method and Sampling Strategy: Simple random sampling justification and approach
- Conclusion: Summary of survey aims and design rationale
- Appendix: Survey Questionnaire: Full 15-question survey instrument
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper clearly connects each design decision to an established best practice, grounding methodological choices in cited literature rather than opinion alone.
- Question groups are organized thematically (diet patterns, healthy food intake, physical activity) and each group's purpose is explicitly tied to relevant research findings, giving the reader a coherent sense of the survey's internal logic.
- The inclusion of the full survey questionnaire in an appendix allows readers to evaluate the abstract claims about best practices against the actual instrument, strengthening credibility.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates evidence-based instrument justification: rather than simply describing what questions were asked, the author explains why each question group was included by citing peer-reviewed sources linking dietary patterns and physical activity to adolescent health outcomes. This technique shows evaluators that survey design choices are deliberate and theoretically grounded.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a logical four-part structure: (1) an introduction establishing the health problem and paper purpose; (2) a section on best practices applied during survey construction; (3) a section explaining the rationale for specific question groups; and (4) a section justifying the sampling method. A brief conclusion synthesizes the paper's aims, and the appendix presents the full survey instrument. This organization moves clearly from general design principles to specific methodological decisions.
Introduction
One of the major health-related problems considered a root cause of chief diseases in the later stages of life is reduced physical activity and an improper diet. This problem needs to be addressed even in developing countries in order to reduce healthcare costs and the associated economic impacts (Dubasi et al., 2019). This paper aims to design a survey (see Appendix) that would help gather information from individuals affected by this health-related issue. The reasons for formulating each questionnaire item are provided based on relevant literature, along with a rationale for selecting those questions according to established best practices.
Best Practices in Survey Design and Question Construction
The primary best practice for formulating any survey is to keep it simple. This strategy was applied throughout the survey in this paper: no complex vocabulary was used, and acronyms and jargon were avoided so that straightforward language would support accurate comprehension of survey responses.
A related best practice holds that each question should target the most relevant data required for the research (Vannette, 2014). The questions were devised with this principle in mind so that all information gathered connects directly to the health-related issue—specifically, how adherence to physical activity and diet affects individual health. The more survey results reflect healthy diets and high physical activity, the more positive the observed health patterns would be. Health patterns are also captured through questions about weight, height, and illness frequency.
Another best practice incorporated in this survey was the use of mutually exclusive multiple-choice response options (My Market Research Methods, 2020). The response scales were designed to be mutually exhaustive so that answers would not overlap. For example, respondents in Question 1 can select only "less than 5" or "exactly 5," with no ambiguity between adjacent categories.
Best practices for questionnaire planning also advise avoiding subjective language. The survey therefore uses formulations such as "Do you often…" rather than leading phrasing like "Why do you often…." Objective frequency markers such as "once a month" and "rarely" are used consistently to give respondents clear, comfortable options.
Respondents should not feel coerced into answering survey questions. Accordingly, best practices recommend including neutral response choices. This survey addresses that principle by including a "not sure" option in most questions, allowing respondents to answer honestly without feeling forced into a definitive position.
Double-barreled questions are strictly avoided in order to prevent confusion. The survey first asks about diet choices and then separately about physical activity. Combining both topics into a single question—such as "Do you eat healthily and exercise daily?"—would make it difficult for respondents to answer accurately.
Rationale for Question Selection
Questions 1–7 were chosen to explore unhealthy dietary patterns among respondents. Research on this health-related issue suggests that physical activity and nutrition together improve body composition, locomotor health, and both physical and intellectual performance in humans (Koehler & Drenowatz, 2019). It was therefore necessary to investigate dietary patterns so that the later sections of the survey could assess respondents' health status in light of those findings.
Questions 8–12 were chosen to examine intake of healthy foods and avoidance of junk and fast food. Research has shown that low consumption of fruits and vegetables combined with high intake of junk food in adolescents is associated with greater rates of sedentary behavior (SB), higher obesity and body mass index (BMI), and increased risk of developing chronic conditions in later life—such as diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol (Borraccino et al., 2016). Adherence levels are also strongly related to social circles and peer eating habits. While questions about peer influence were not included, questions about the frequency of eating out were incorporated as a proxy. Exploring the influence of social circles would have introduced the socioeconomic status of adolescents as an additional variable, which fell outside the survey's intended focus. The survey's scope was limited to examining adherence to a healthy, balanced diet and appropriate levels of physical activity.
Questions 13–15 assess engagement in physical activity. Multiple studies have examined the relationship between low physical activity during adolescence and the development of chronic diseases in adulthood, including significant impacts on morbidity and mortality (Kumar, Robinson & Till, 2015). The well-documented rise in adolescent obesity rates informed the design of these questions.
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