Research
Studies report that between 14-59% of college students are food insecure at some point of their time in college. This is extremely problematic, as it may have a detrimental impact on school performance. The research of the connection between food insecurity and academic performance in college is extremely limited. However, there is research that suggests food insecurity is extremely harmful to student success in K-12, so it is quite likely that it has a non-trivial impact on college students as well. Studies have shown a correlation between food insecurity and lower GPAs, with food insecure students being more likely to have lower GPAs than food secure students.
One interesting aspect of food insecurity in the college sphere is that, by many, it is seen as the norm. The ramen noodle stereotype seems to both help and hurt food insecure students. On the bright side, it normalizes the idea of being food insecure, so the negative stigma would be lessened. On the other side, normalizing this makes it seem like less of a problem. This can result in a lack of financial/food assistance from the school, parents, and others.
In a study conducted at the University of North Texas (UNT), it was found that 30% of participants that were food insecure “cited dropping grades due to hunger and about half experienced difficulty concentrating.” Whether this is truly the cause or not is hard to say. However, even if it is not the cause, food insecurity would definitely serve as a mental barrier, as it creates more stress. The UNT study found five solutions that seem to have the most support. “Campus food pantry, food recovery from dining halls, reduced meal plans, meal vouchers, and work for food programs.” Here at Stout, the only program of these that we have is a “work for food” program, where if you work a 4+ hour shift in the dining service, you get a free meal. Each program has advantages and disadvantages. For example, the campus food pantry still holds the negative stigma of any food pantry, it is just more accessible. The “work for food” program, while negating the stigma, requires students to work a defined number of hours for a meal, something that may be difficult for some students to fit into their schedule.
College becomes a time in a student’s life where they are overwhelmed by the level of freedom they have after leaving home. One of the struggles that becomes keeping healthy eating routine. There are a variety of factors involved, such as access to campus all you can eat, more eating of smaller portions or snacking, and a general lack of healthier foods that are replaced with more junk and sweet sugary food.
We can see examples of this in our own campus dining services, something that can be seen is the amount of food you can access that has a strong amount of sugars in it. Let us not forget that the Freshman 15 is a fact of college that everyone knows about and agrees is something that is a part of the college experience. However studies show that while students tend to gain anywhere between 3-8 lbs on average on their first year, this isn’t the biggest issue.
During the course of a student’s college experience, many of their habits can be worked around along with the biggest worry most students would have, is there enough budget to actually eat a healthier style. One of the things when it comes to budgeting your diet however, is that students fit their budget to what they need, and while the healthiest options might not always be available, there can still be better choices in what we eat with what we have.
The biggest thing when it comes to college nutrition for college students, can be the habits that we set for ourselves. When it comes to our diet, what students set for themselves in college is re-enforced for the rest of their lives. While many students who weight gain and practices in diet during their first year, if those habits become concrete, it is one of the major factors in an unhealthy lifestyle not only for the rest of their education but their lives.
The Survey
Based on a survey of 40 college students at UW - Stout, we have found that roughly 60% of students eat what they consider a healthy diet. The main contributor to the students who do not maintain a healthy diet is due to the lack of time to shop for groceries and to prepare a healthy meal.
Roughly half of the students have some type of job and work an average of 4-6 hours each shift. The average student says that they spend 6 hours a day on school and homework. 10 hours of your day is already dedicated to other tasks, plus at least 8 hours of sleep doesn’t leave a whole lot of time left to grocery shop and cook each day. A strong majority (92.5%) of students own a car and have access to a grocery store. With the grocery store of choice being popularly Walmart or ALDI's, this still shows that students choose to make poor eating choices and often base their shopping lists off of how long it takes to cook.
With 85% of our study group living off campus, students typically favor their own cooking over eating on campus in the dining halls. This makes it more difficult to get a variety of food groups into their diets. When cooking at home, the average student likely has a lot of carbs, some sort of protein, and is very unlikely to have healthy fruits and vegetables.
Students rated healthy eating to be important to them, giving it an 8 on a scale of one to ten. Those same students also claimed that healthy eating was eating fruits and vegetables, and not eating foods high in preservatives or "junk food". When asked if those same students had changed their eating habits after coming to college, an overwhelming 83.7% responded Yes, 51.6% of those students claimed they ate less healthy, 22.5 % claimed they ate less food (which ranged from attempting to eat healthy or lack of money for food) , 22.5% claimed they ate healthier, and 9.6% changed their diet to a vegetarian one.
When asked about their roommate's eating habits, 42.11% responded that their roommates held similar eating habits to themselves, 26.32% claimed their roommate had a significantly less healthy diet, and 5.26% claimed their roommate had a healthier diet. When asked if they enjoyed cooking most of the students responded that they are okay with it, 28.95% said they enjoy cooking, and 13.16% said they'd prefer not to.
Finally, when students were asked how many days a week they frequented certain spots for food they responded with an average of 5 days a week at on campus dinning services, 1 day a week at fast food places, 1 day a week at sit in restaurants, and 7 days a week making homemade food.
This is, of course, only a brief overview of the topic matter. For more information on this, you can follow the link below for the study used. A simple google search will also produce many results on the matter, as the topic is becoming more and more popular of a discussion point.
Resources
A link to the survey results can be found here
https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/napa.12108
https://www.heath.gwu.edu/food-and-nutrition-college
https://www.bendbulletin.com/health/6378360-151/college-students-eating-habits-can-lead-to-health
