School of Health Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.
Priority Research Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.
Nutrients. 2021 Mar 24;13(4):1053. doi: 10.3390/nu13041053.
University food environments are typically dominated by unhealthy food choices. The aim was to investigate associations between on-campus food purchasing behaviours and dietary intake in an Australian university student sample. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2017-2018 with students ( = 362, 71.0% female, mean age 27.5 ± 10.5 years) from the University of Newcastle, Australia. On-campus food purchasing behaviours (purchasing frequency and weekly expenditure), dietary intake (diet quality and percentage energy/day from energy-dense, nutrient-poor (EDNP) foods) and sociodemographic and student characteristics (e.g., time spent on campus) were measured. Linear regression was used to explore associations between food purchasing behaviours and dietary intake, adjusted for potential confounders. Mean percentage energy/day from EDNP foods was 31.7 ± 14.4. Mean diet quality score was 32.6 ± 10.2 out of 73. Higher percentage energy/day from EDNP foods was associated with higher weekly expenditure (β = 0.203, < 0.001) and more frequent purchase (β = 18.041, < 0.001 for ≥4 times a week vs. never) of food/drinks on campus. Diet quality was not significantly associated with purchase frequency or expenditure ( > 0.05). Findings are supportive of changes being made to university food environments, as a strategy to improve dietary intake among university students.
大学校园的食物环境通常以不健康的食物选择为主。本研究旨在调查澳大利亚大学生样本中校园内食物购买行为与饮食摄入之间的关联。2017-2018 年，对澳大利亚纽卡斯尔大学的学生（n=362，71.0%为女性，平均年龄 27.5±10.5 岁）进行了一项在线横断面调查。测量了校园内食物购买行为（购买频率和每周支出）、饮食摄入（饮食质量和能量密集型、营养贫乏（EDNP）食物的能量占比）以及社会人口学和学生特征（如在校园内花费的时间）。线性回归用于探索食物购买行为与饮食摄入之间的关联，并调整了潜在混杂因素。EDNP 食物的日均能量占比为 31.7±14.4。饮食质量评分为 73 分中的 32.6±10.2。EDNP 食物的日均能量占比与每周支出（β=0.203，<0.001）和更频繁的购买（β=18.041，<0.001，每周≥4 次与从不购买相比）呈正相关。饮食质量与购买频率或支出无显著相关性（>0.05）。研究结果支持对大学校园食物环境进行改变，以改善大学生的饮食摄入。
