Factors influencing healthy food choices of university students

Abstract

Healthy foods should be available to anyone, especially young adults at educational institutions. University students can suffer a lack of preoccupation with their health and consequently also present unhealthy food choices, due to the adaptation of a new environment, study stress, lack of proper time management, and busy class schedules. This study consisted of two cross-sectional observational analyzes, in which students were randomly recruited from the university, and data was obtained through the Computer-aided web interviewing survey method, through a web-based questionnaire. The sample included 584 participants, 297 from 2018 and 287 from 2019. The preference and choice for a healthy snack bar in university facilities seem to be conditioned mainly by the price of meals, as most students mentioned this as the main condition of their choice, both in 2018 and 2019. In this sense, most respondents report that only "sometimes" would they be willing to pay more than usual or travel a longer distance, to dine in a healthier snack bar. We conclude that the factor that most influences the choice of healthy food is the price, but there is a higher demand and consumption trend for healthy food in young college students.