HUMAN AND SOCIAL BIOLOGY

SBA: RESEARCH PROJECT

THE EFFECTS OF LIFESTYLE HABITS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIABETES IN

Candidate Name: Lisa Stanford

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TABLE OF CONTENT
PAGE NUMBER
Introduction ……………………………………………….…..3
Methodology …………………………………………………..3
Presentation of Data ……………………………………………..4
Analysis and Interpretation of Data ………………………………
Conclusion ……………………………………………………...10
Recommendations ………………………………………………11
Reflection ………………………………………………………. 11
Bibliography………………………………………………..…….12 .
Appendices …………………………………………...…………..13

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 HUMAN SOCIAL BIOLOGY

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Diabetes is a serious disease that is becoming more prevalent. It is a disease that occurs when
blood glucose, also called blood sugar, is too high (Lindsay,2007).
Type 2 Diabetes is now being diagnosed in children, teens, and young adults, but it can develop
at any age. (CDC, 2021). It is believed that younger persons are developing diabetes because of
the change in diet and lifestyle habits when compared to 30 years ago. Persons have become
more stressed, eat more carbohydrate-rich foods while being less active. It is believed those
changes, along with the consumption of alcohol and the smoking of cigarettes are causing
younger persons to develop diabetes.

PROBLEM STATEMENT- Due to diet and lifestyle changes, younger persons (35-50
years) are developing diabetes in Chaguanas.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: (1) To determine the incidence of diabetes in younger persons

METHODOLOGY:
There were 58 participants (ages 35–50-years) in this study, 30 of which had diabetes. These
participants were both males and females and were all from the Chaguanas community. The data
collection instrument used to gather information was an online questionnaire that was developed
using Google Form. This questionnaire consisted of 13 multiple choice questions and sought to
gain information about the participants’ stress level, eating habits, smoking habits, alcohol
consumption and activity level.
The questionnaire was distributed and received online through e-mail and WhatsApp to avoid
face-to-face contact, thus preventing the spread of the COVID -19 virus. The advantages of using
a questionnaire is that it allowed the gathering of information from a large audience and it
protected the privacy of the participants. Limitations of using a questionnaire are that it is easier
to give false information on a form rather than in person, participants may have a hidden agenda
and participants may choose answers without properly understanding the question.

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 PRESENTATION OF DATA*STUDENTS, DO NOT
COPY THIS DATA/NUMBERS AS THEY ARE MADE-UP (FICTITIOUS)!
Table 1.0-Percentage of Diabetic Participants In The Various Age Groups in the
Chaguanas community
Total number of Diabetic 20-29 Years 30-39 Years 40-50 Years
Participants
28 20% 38% 42%

From the data obtained in this study, the percentage of diabetic participants in Chaguanas that
were 20-29 years was 20% while those that were 30-39 years was 38% and in the age group 40-
50 years was 42%.

Table 2.0- Number of Sleeping Hours of Diabeetic Participants

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 5 hours or less hours 6-7 8 hours More than 8
hours

Number of 9 10 9 2
Diabetic
Participants

Percentage of 30% 33.3% 30% 6.7%

Table 2.0 shows that 63.3% of the diabetic participants lacked sleep and therefore may have
contributed to the development of diabetes. This finding is similar to the findings from the
studies done by Pannain, C. T. (2011, August 1) STUDENTS, YOU HAVE TO CITE YOUR
OWN STUDY THAT YOU FOUND ONLINE…..DO NOT USE THESE AS THEY ARE ALL
MADE-UP!!!

Table 3.0 - Smoking Habits of Diabetic Participants

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 Less than half Half pack to 1 More than 1 I do not smoke
pack per day pack per day pack per day

Number of 15 10 2 3
Diabetic
Participants

Percentage of 50% 33.3% 6.7% 10%

From Table 3.0, it is seen that 85% of the diabetic participants smoked cigarettes which would
indicate that there most likely is a relationship between smoking and the development of
diabetes. The finding from this study is similar to the studies done by Morris, S. A. (2012,
December 12), where evidence was shown regarding the impact of smoking causing diabetes.

Table 4.0- Alcohol consumption by Diabetic Participants

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 I do not drink 1-2 times per 2-4 times per More than 4
alcohol month month times per
month
Number of 4 5 20 1
Diabetic
Participants
Percentage of 13.3% 16.7% 66.7% 3.3%
Diabetic
Participants
(%)

From Table 4.0 it is seen that 86.7% of the diabetic participants drank alcohol often which would
indicate there is a possible correlation between alcohol consumption and the development of
diabetes in the participants. This finding is similar to the findings Kim, S. J. (2012, April 17).

Table 4.0- Activity Level of Diabetic Participants

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 Less than once 1-2 times per 3-4 times per More than 4
per week week week times per week
Number of 1 10 6 13
Diabetic
Participants
Percentage of 3.3% 33.3% 20% 43.3%
Diabetic
Participants (%)

As can be seen from Table 4.0, only 36.6% of the diabetic participants were vigorously active for

less than 3 times per week which would indicate that there may be no relation between inactivity

and the development of diabetes. This finding is different from that done by Sigal, R. J. (2004,

October 1) on physical activity/ exercise and diabetes.

ANALYSIS OF RESULTS

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(STUDENTS: Here you move all the individual analyses below the graphs and put
them here)

CONCLUSION
From this study, it can be concluded that the incidence of diabetes in persons 35-50 years in

Chaguanas is 52%. In addition, there is a strong connection between the diet and lifestyle

habits of persons 35-50 years in Chaguanas and the development of diabetes in

these persons since possible link was found for the development of diabetes and lack of sleep,

smoking, alcohol consumption, and eating fast food and carbohydrate-rich foods

However, no link was found for lack of activity.

RECOMMENDATIONS

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Based on the findings from this study, it is recommended that
_________________________________________________________________________ and
__________________________________________________________ .
(Students: Please note that your recommendation MUST be based on the correlations you found
from YOUR study).

REFLECTIONS
Two lessons I have learnt after undertaking the project are that diabetes is no longer a disease
which affect older people and habits such as _____________ and ____________ can caused
someone to develop diabetes at a younger age.

One way in which the lessons learnt above could be applied to my personal life is that I
______________________________ .

One way in which the project could be improved is by __________________________

One social impact of younger persons developing diabetes could have on my community if not
rectified is that ______________________________________

One economic impact of younger persons developing diabetes could have on my community if
not rectified is that ______________________________________

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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(Griffin P. Rodgers ,2007). What is Diabetes? | NIDDK (nih.gov)
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017).Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention 2017 Guidelines for Prevention of Surgical Site Infections: Review and Relevant
Recommendations (nih.gov)
Nutrition Principles and Recommendations in Diabetes | Diabetes Care | American Diabetes
Association (diabetesjournals.org)

APPENDICES

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APPENDIX 1.0- Human and Social Biology SBA Questionnaire (Diabetes) 
A wonderful, good day to you. I am a Form 5 Human & Social Biology student at Carapichaima

West Secondary School and this questionnaire is part of my School-Based Assessment Project in

Human and Social Biology. I am conducting research on the incidence of diabetes in 35-50

years-old persons in Chaguanas.

This questionnaire consists of 13 questions and will take no more than 10 minutes for you to

complete. All responses will be kept confidential, and no one will be identifiable in this research.

Kindly note there is no compensation for completing this questionnaire. I thank you for your

participation. Have an amazing day!

* Required

Demographics

1. What gender are you? * *

● Male

● Female

2. Are you within 35-50 years old? * *

● Yes

● No

3. What area in Trinidad do you live in? * *

Chaguanas

Medical status

4. Do you have diabetes? * *

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 ● Yes

● No

Stress level

If you answered 'YES' for number 4 above, the following questions pertain to your stress level

BEFORE being diagnosed with Diabetes.

If you answered 'NO' for number 4 above, the following questions pertain to your stress level AT

PRESENT.

5. Approximately how many hours do you sleep every night? * *

● 5 hours or less

● 6-7 hours

● 8 hours

● More than 8 hours

6. What is your profession/job? * *

Bank Teller

7. Does your profession/job involve working in shifts? * *

● Yes

● No

If you answered 'YES' for number 4 above, the following question pertains to your smoking

habits BEFORE being diagnosed with Diabetes. If you answered 'NO' for number 4 above, the

following question pertains to your smoking habits AT PRESENT. 

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9. How many cigarettes do you smoke a day? * *

● Less than half pack per day

● Half pack to 1 pack per day

● More than 1 pack per day

● I do not smoke

Alcohol consumption

If you answered 'YES' for number 4 above, the following question pertains to your alcohol

consumption BEFORE being diagnosed with Diabetes.

If you answered 'NO' for number 4 above, the following question pertains to your alcohol

consumption AT PRESENT.  

10. How often do you drink alcohol? * *

● I do not drink alcohol

● Approximately 1-2 times per month

● 3-4 times per month

● More than 4 times per month

Diet

 If you answered 'YES' for number 4 above, the following questions pertain to your diet

BEFORE being diagnosed with Diabetes.

If you answered 'NO' for number 4 above, the following questions pertain to your diet AT

PRESENT.

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11. How often do you eat fast food? * *

● I do not eat fast food

● Approximately 1-2 times per month

● 3-5 times per month

● More than 5 times per month

12. I often eat excess: a) sugar b)bread/cake/pasta c) junk food and snacks * *

● Three of these

● Two of these

● One of these

● None of these

Activity level

If you answered 'YES' for number 4 above, the following question pertains to your activity level

BEFORE being diagnosed with Diabetes.

If you answered 'NO' for number 4 above, the following question pertains to your activity level

AT PRESENT. 

13. I am vigorously active for at least 30 minutes per day (running, cycling, etc.) * *

● Less than once per week

● 1-2 times per week

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 ● 3-4 times per week

● more than 4 times per week

STUDENTS, you place the link to the SBA online questionnaire HERE!

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