Relationships between food consumption and living arrangements among university students in four European countries - A cross-sectional study

El Ansari, Walid, Stock, Christiane and Mikolajczyk, Rafael T (2012) Relationships between food consumption and living arrangements among university students in four European countries - A cross-sectional study. Nutrition Journal, 11 (1). p. 28. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-11-28

Preview

Text (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0) Relationships between food consumption and.pdf - Published Version Download (176kB) | Preview

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The transition of young people from school to university has many health implications. Food choice at the university can differ because of childhood food consumption patterns, sex and the living arrangements. Food consumption may change especially if students are living away from home. We aimed to assess food consumption patterns among university students from four European countries and how they differ by their living arrangements. METHODS: We analysed data from a cross-country survey assessing health and health behaviours of students. The sample comprised a total of 2402 first year undergraduate students from one university in each of the countries of Germany, Denmark, Poland and Bulgaria. Food consumption was assessed by means of a food frequency questionnaire with 9 food groups (indicators). RESULTS: Students' food consumption patterns differed across the countries. Frequent consumption of unhealthy items was common. Bulgarian students reported most often frequent consumption of sweets and cakes and snacks (e.g. chips and fast food). Polish students reported the least frequent consumption of vegetables and a low consumption of fruits. Across all countries except Bulgaria, men reported substantially more often frequent consumption of snacks than women. Students living at parental home consumed more fruit, vegetables, and meat than those who resided outside of their family home in all studied countries. There was more variation with regard to cakes and salads with more frequent consumption of cakes among Bulgarian female students and Danish male students and more frequent consumption of salads among Danish female students not living at parental home, compared to students from other countries. CONCLUSIONS: Nutrition habits of university students differed across countries and by sex. Students living at parental home displayed more healthy nutrition habits, with some exceptions.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Education and Science
Research Priority Areas:	Health, Life Sciences, Sport and Wellbeing
Depositing User:	Anne Pengelly
Date Deposited:	16 Feb 2015 13:11
Last Modified:	31 Aug 2023 09:10
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/1342

University Staff: Request a correction | Repository Editors: Update this record