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Shaping college‐age eating behavior in an institutionally derived food setting with a simple, interactive computer spreadsheet
Author(s) -
Crowder Todd A.,
East Whitfield B.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.632.1
Subject(s) - meal , food choice , consumption (sociology) , psychology , food science , gerontology , medicine , chemistry , sociology , social science , pathology
Many higher educational, institutional food settings offer set menus created by RD's yet students are allowed choices on amounts and food selections. Our institution has a goal of providing < 30% fat for each meal yet allows freedom of choice. Purpose Create a simple, user friendly computer spreadsheet that will assist students with higher quality food selections and enhance overall nutrition. Methods An interactive computer program was created, allowing students to build a daily nutrition plan based on total energy expenditure (TEE); macronutrient planning based on meat, dairy, bread, vegetables, starches, fruits, dessert; and diet tracking based on consumption during breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. The overall program (originally joint produced with RD) was designed to shape eating behaviors, with the goal of decreasing fat consumption, increasing fiber consumption, and consuming a more nutrient‐dense diet. Students consumed one “normal” (n) day then one “planned” (p) day using the interactive software to create the “planned” day dietary intakes by food category. A diet analysis was conducted on each day and results analyzed. Results Forty one college‐age students (male = 35, female =6) completed all facets of the investigation. Additionally, the consumption of carbohydrates expressed in g/kg body mass increased for both men (5.32 to 5.8, p = .06) and women (2.87 to 3.73, p=.16).Status Kcal n Kcal p Fiber (g) n Fiber (g) p Fat (g) n Fat (g) pMen 3026 2983 25.6 40.3 * 99.9 81.6 # Women 1920 2014 15.1 19.5 ** 66.3 65.6* p < .0001,# p < .02;** p =.17Conclusion An interactive, computer software program appears to assist in shaping positive nutritional behavior practices in college‐age students.