Abstract
Objective
To assess university students’ knowledge, intentions, and coping self-efficacy related
to dietary recommendations.
Design
The study used a cross-sectional online survey.
Setting
Large university campus.
Participants
Students (n = 6,638; 22% response).
Variables Measured
Self-efficacy and intentions were measured using 11-point scales. Students’ perceived
dietary recommendations were evaluated as correct or incorrect.
Analysis
Categorical variables were analyzed using chi-square and continuous variables by t tests or ANOVAs. Significance was set at P ≤ .05 and multiple comparisons at P ≤ .01.
Results
Respondents believed that they need fewer vegetables and fruit and more milk or alternatives
servings/d than recommended; eg, males aged ≥ 19 years perceived milk or alternatives
recommendations to be 4.3 ± 2.1 servings/d, significantly more than the 2 servings/d
recommended (P < .001). Students in health sciences or with a food or nutrition course were significantly
more likely to claim that they met recommendations (eg, 56% with vs 47% without a
food or nutrition course for vegetables and fruit; P < .001); however, they were no more likely to identify them correctly. Males aged
< 19 years had higher coping self-efficacy than females aged < 19 years to consume
vegetables (68.3 ± 24.2 vs 64.0 ± 24.7; P < .01) and avoid high-calorie foods and beverages (HCFB) (56.2 ± 27.2 vs 49.0 ± 25.2;
P < .01) when under stress; however, they had significantly lower intentions to consume
vegetables (72.1 ± 24.5 vs 80.9 ± 20.3; P < .01) and avoid HCFB (60.5 ± 30.3 vs 77.7 ± 22.8; P < .01).
Conclusions and Implications
Students do not have adequate knowledge of age- and sex-specific food guide recommendations.
Simpler food guide recommendations or age- and sex-targeted campaigns may enhance
knowledge. Students intend to consume more vegetables and less HCFB; however, they
have low coping self-efficacy, all of which could be targeted in nutrition interventions.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 27, 2015
Accepted:
August 10,
2015
Footnotes
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The authors' conflict of interest disclosures can be found online with this article on www.jneb.org.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
