Exploring snacking habits of college students

Abstract

Previous research has revealed that adolescents have the highest prevalence of unsatisfactory nutritional status and unstructured eating patterns. They also recognized the importance of snacks in the eating habits of this population group. The purpose of this study was to investigate the snacking habits of undergraduate college students, and their correlations with the population’s general eating practices and response to nutrition education. Two hundred eighty four a nutrition course undertook a term project in which they provided information on consumption in the percentage calories provided by protein, fat, carbohydrate and alcohol; their nutrient meals and snacks; and their vitamin/mineral supplement(s) usage toward the beginning of the class. Toward the end of the class, they answered questions on the effect of nutrition education on their eating habits for the overall diet and on vitamin/mineral supplement usage. They also re-ported their frequencies of meals and snacks, their snacks’ food preferences, and responded relationships between snacking perceptions. Correlational statistics were used to identify any significant all the variables. The data analysis revealed that the unstructured eating patterns of college students do not automatically mean unsatisfactory nutritional status and a fondness for just low nutrient dense foods. However, no specific trend could be detected between the snacking perceptions and the consumption practices of college students.