Factores sociales en las conductas alimentarias de estudiantes universitarios

Abstract

The feeding behavior has a direct influence on the nutritional status of individuals belonging to diverse age groups, among them, higher education students. The aim of this research was to interpret the perception of the influence exerted by the family environment, university peers and educational staff on the dietary behavior of university students belonging to the Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción. In order to achieve this aim, qualitative methodology through a phenomenological design was used. As a strategy to gather information, a semi-structured interview was applied to 8 students, going into some of the results in depth with a focus group composed by 9 students of the university. Our results showed that the family, friends and university staff influenced the feeding behavior of the interviewed students. Moreover, these influences were found to be favorable regarding healthy feeding behavior in the case of studentís family; and unfavorable in the case of friends and university staff.