Eating Habits in College Aged Students

Bowling Green State University

FN 4350
Kelli Baumgardner
Glitter Girls

Introduction
One of the major transitions a college student has to face is taking control of their
own diet and choosing what they will eat and when. Most eating habits are developed while still
young, however the unhealthy habits they develop during these years can stick with them for the
rest of their adult life (1, 2). While their diet is mostly dictated by their parents while they are
younger, the environmental change of being on their own and buying and preparing food on their
own often negatively affects their diet (3). College students are known to have poor eating habits
and this is one the major public health concerns among college age young adults (2). Their
eating habits are often dependent on their class schedule, availability of food on or close to
campus, and cost (4). Other factors that can play a role in their eating habits are if they live on
campus or off campus, peers, gender, and stress (1, 5).
Diets of college students are often very low in fruits and vegetables and high in
refined grains, fried foods, and high fat foods (1-3). Its estimated that less than one in ten
college students consumed five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day (1) and that
fruit consumption has decreased over the past decade (3). Many college student experience
weight gain due to a number of reasons such as alcohol consumption, stress, lack of physical
activity, but one of the main problems for weight gain is poor eating habits (5). Students diets
are very dependent on what food is available and quickest for them, which often leaves them
choosing fast food options which can typically be found all over and close to college campuses
(4, 7). Diets that are high in fast food options often lead to weight gain and obesity in both
college and years after (1, 3, 6). This is because fast food is rich in energy and poor in essential
micronutrients and also promotes poor portion control (5). Obesity is becoming a growing
problem worldwide and is the cause of many diseases such as hypertension, type two diabetes,
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certain cancers, and coronary artery disease (6). According to the World Health Organization,
obesity is more common in females, however studies show that actually more male college
students are obese than female college students (6). The purpose of this project was to examine
the eating habits of college aged young adults in a variety of settings in Northwest Ohio.
Methods
Study Design
This study was designed to evaluate and compare the eating habits of college aged
students. To get a true idea of college students eating habits, they were unaware of researchers
presence. To account for varying availability of food choices, data was collected at seven
different locations; The Bowling Green State University (BGSU) Bowen Thompson Student
Union food court, the BGSU Oaks Dining Hall, Panera and Biggby Coffee shops, two popular
restaurants (TGI Fridays and Kermits) and a popular mall food court (Franklin Park/Westfield
Mall). Researcher sat in a location where they could observe what the subjects were eating at
each location for one hour. Observations were made based on their gender and fifteen different
categories; Fruit, Vegetables, Fried Food, Whole Grains, Refined Grains, Desserts and Sweets,
Pop/Sugary Beverages, Dairy, Protein, Not practicing portion control, Water, Sitting down,
Conversing, Have a screen in front of them, and How closely does their plate follow MyPlate
food guide.
Subjects
The subjects that were observed were college age, so between the ages of 18 and 25.
In this study, 47% were male and 53% were female (149 and 169 respectively). The subjects

observed were as ethnically diverse as that of a Northwestern Ohio college campus. This study
did not need approval from the Human Subjects Review Board because no invasive procedures
were used and subjects were unaware of their part in this study.
Procedures/Instruments
The purpose of this study was first determined by reviewing literature and common
dietary concerns of college age individuals. Researchers then observed college students eating
and recorded their habits using Microsoft Word to complete an observation sheet. The data was
then combined and analyzed to determine significant points and trends.
Statistical Analysis
Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel were used for the analysis of the data. The data
from each location was combined to form one large data set that would not be bias based on the
location that the data was collected at. Each category was divided by the total number of males
or females to determine what percentage of males or females consumed that particular category.
The results were then charted and analyzed to identify significant trends.
Results
The sample was comprised of 318 individual; 169 females and 149 males (53% and
47% respectively). While observing 20.1% of males consumed fruit while only 15.4% of
females consumed fruit. Over half (59.0%) of males consumed vegetables and females
consumed considerably less vegetables (38.5%). Females did not eat as much fried food as
males however, with 52.7% and 70.0% respectively. Males were also more likely to be
consuming refined grains (80.1%) than females (75.7%). However, more males (27.6%) were
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consuming whole grains than females (23.1%). Pop and other sugary beverages were almost
twice as likely to be drunken by males then females with 81.2% and 46.2% respectively and
water what the chosen beverage for only 29.5% of males and 34.9% of females. Desserts and
sweets were consumed at almost the same rate for males (35.0%) and females (36.0%). 47.3%
of females observed were consuming dairy while only 35.6% of males were. While over half of
both groups were consuming a protein in their meal, males had the higher percentage at 69.1%
with females being at 52.1%. Other things that were observed was 80.5% of males along with
70.4% of the females not practicing portion control, and only 4.7% of males and 11.2% of
females plates resembling the MyPlate food guide. Finally, all of the people being observed
were sitting down, the majority were conversing with another person (88.6% male and 97.6%
female), and also the majority had some sort of screen or technology in front of them (88.6%
male and 63.3% female).

Subjects

Eating Habits of College Students in

Percentages
100.00%
90.00%
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%

males
females

Figure 1. Depicts eating behaviors observed of college students

Discussion
The results that we concluded from this study made an important contribution to the
understanding of college students eating habits. This observational study showed that college
students of Northwest Ohio have many unhealthy eating habits. We observed many trends in
eating habits that were very similar to studies conducted in other areas of college students.
Eating habits often vary by gender, so we investigated and examined how each different habit
varied by gender. In another study, also conducted among college students, Deshpande, M. Basil
and D. Basil, argued that we need to be targeting men on nutrition education, because they are
less likely to eat a healthy diet than females (1). For the majority of categories, a higher
percentage of males consumed unhealthy choices than females, however we also found that a
lower percentage of females were consuming healthy choices than males. So our research only
partially supports this idea that males automatically eat more unhealthy choices than females.
The MyPlate food guide recommends that about two thirds of your plate should consist of fruits
and vegetables and one should limit their intake of fried foods. According to the data collected,
only 59% of the males and 38.5% of the females were consuming vegetables, and even less,
20.1% male and 15.4% female, were consuming fruits while being observed. We also observed
70.0% of males and 52.2% of females consuming fried foods. This data is very similar to a
study done by Al-Rethaiaa, Fahmy, and Al-Shwaiyat (6) at a Saudi Arabian University where
they found that fruit and vegetable consumption was much less (about 36.1% and 32.2%
respectively) than students consumption of fried foods (46.8%). Similarly, a study conducted
on Malaysian college students also discovered that the majority was not consuming the proper
amounts of fruits and vegetables and over half were consuming fast food on a regular basis (2).

So it appears that no matter where you go, college students around the globe have poor eating
habits, Northwest Ohio included.
Limitations
The main limitation of this study was the short time frame that it was conducted in.
In order to get a truer picture of the true eating habits of college students, it would take a lot
more time and observation hours. The population that we did get to survey is not necessarily
enough to claim trends for the whole college population. In addition, being this was just an
observational study, the researchers were bound to miss some people or incorrectly guess what
someone is eating. It can be very difficult when sitting in a fixed spot to see everyone around
you, so in that aspect a survey might have given a better picture, however, then you run into
people saying one thing on the survey and doing something completely different in real life.
Recommendations for professionals and researchers
This study does show several unhealthy eating habits that college students have
adopted and could definitely be improved upon. Nutrition education for college aged people is
essential to help them realize how they eat now will affect them for the rest of their lives. If this
study were to be done again, a more structured approach would be taken by methods such as
surveying a sample population. Also it would be very interesting to include peoples BMI along
with their eating habits to see how those relate and if we can make any correlations between the
two. Further research that could stem off of this would also be longitudinal studies that examine
college students eating habits and their health trends throughout the rest of their adult lives.
Over all our findings suggest a need to improve upon college age individuals understanding of
proper nutrition and eating habits.
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References
1. Deshpande S, Basil MD. Factors influencing healthy eating habits among college students: an
application of the health belief model. Health Mark Q. 2009; 26:145-164.
2. Ganasegeran K, Al-Dubai SAR, Qureshi AM, Al-abed AAA, Am R, Aljunid SM. Social and
psychological factors affecting eating habits among university students in a Malaysian medical
school: a cross-sectional study. Nutrition journal. 2012;11:48-48.
3. Guagliardo V, Lions C, Darmon N, Verger P. Eating at the university canteen. Associations
with socioeconomic status and healthier self-reported eating habits in France. Appetite.
2011;56:90-95.
4. Gazibara T, Kisic Tepavcevic DB, Popovic A, Pekmezovic T. Eating habits and body-weights
of students of the university of belgrade, serbia: a cross-sectional study. J Health Popul Nutr.
2013;31:330-333.
5. Nola IA, Jelini JD, Matani D, Pucarin-Cvetkovi J, Bergman Markovi B, Senta A.
Differences in eating and lifestyle habits between first- and sixth-year medical students from
Zagreb. Coll Antropol. 2010;34:1289-1294.
6. Al-Rethaiaa A, Fahmy AA, Al-Shwaiyat N. Obesity and eating habits among college students
in Saudi Arabia: a cross sectional study. Nutrition Journal 2010 Sep 19;9:39.

Appendix
Number of students observed eating/participating in each behavior and percentage
N (%) of students

Fruit
Vegetables
Fried Food
Whole Grains
Refined Grains
Desserts and Sweets
Pop/Sugary Beverages
Dairy
Protein
Not practicing portion control
Water
Sitting down
Conversing
Have a screen in front of them
How close does their plate
follow MyPlate

Male
30 (20.1)
88 (59.0)
104 (70.0)
41 (27.6)
119 (80.0)
52 (35.0)
121 (81.2)
53 (35.6)
103 (69.1)
128 (85.9)
44 (29.5)
149 (100.0)
132 (88.6)
109 (73.2)
7 (4.7)

Female
26 (15.4)
65 (38.5)
89 (52.7)
39 (23.1)
128 (75.7)
61 (36.0)
78 (36)
80 (47.3)
88 (52.1)
119 (70.4)
59 (34.9)
169 (100.0)
165 (97.6)
107 (63.3)
19 (11.2)