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Exploring the environmental, personal and behavioural factors as determinants for university students’ food behaviour
Author(s) -
Marquis Marie,
Talbot Annie,
Sabourin Amélie,
Riopel Chantal
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
international journal of consumer studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.775
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1470-6431
pISSN - 1470-6423
DOI - 10.1111/ijcs.12490
Subject(s) - psychology , psychological intervention , pleasure , residence , promotion (chess) , descriptive statistics , food choice , feeling , social psychology , environmental health , medicine , sociology , pathology , statistics , demography , mathematics , neuroscience , psychiatry , politics , political science , law
The research objective was to explore the environmental, personal and behavioural factors as determinants of university students’ food behaviour in Québec, Canada. A web‐based questionnaire including factors likely to influence eating behaviours was developed. The questionnaire described 16 profiles, each associated with a food choice determinant. The students’ living arrangements and sociodemographic profile were also obtained. Descriptive statistics, chi‐square tests and factor analysis were conducted. A total of 857 students participated in the study. Significant gender differences were noted as well as differences according to living arrangements (e.g., residence hall, apartment with a roommate, with parents or alone in an apartment). Significant relationships were also found between food insecurity and citizenship. Based on the factor analysis and the underlying constructs, four profiles describing different eaters were identified: the planet‐nutrition‐kitchen lover , the utilitarian lonely eater , the body‐driven eater and the mindless eater. The results suggest topics to take into account when developing nutrition interventions or nutrition‐based health prevention programmes. These topics include cooking skills, time constraints, commensality, food variety, pleasure, body concern, mindless eating and stress. Moreover, a marginal but worrisome food determinant is also discussed, namely food insecurity. The results suggest some components to strengthen or incorporate into future nutrition interventions, such as body satisfaction, body image and satiety. Strategies to decrease emotional eating and promote mindful eating are worthwhile considerations when developing a health promotion university programme. The heterogeneity of the living arrangements and how they relate to food behaviours are also of great importance. Lastly, it is crucial to provide food assistance programmes and services to students with financial limitations.