Powerpoint template for scientific posters Swarthmore College

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Do prepaid meal plans impact college students
diets? Mortensen, L Wright, CB,
Ph.D.Department of Agriculture and Nutrition,
Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah 84720
Conclusions Based on this population, students
without prepaid meal plans made the healthiest
food choices. These students were more likely to
have a BMI within the normal range, eat less
fried foods and consume more servings of fruits
and vegetables each day. Students with prepaid
meal plans were more likely to eat 3 meals per
day. This data suggests that there is a
difference in the eating habits of college
students who have a prepaid meal plan versus
those who do not. Limitations This study
only looked at students who live on the campus of
Southern Utah University. The study would be
strengthened by looking at a sample of all SUU
students, both those living on and off campus.
An evaluation of the food served at the cafeteria
would also be beneficial. References Haberm
an S., Luffey D. Weighing in College Students
Diet and Exercise Behaviors. Journal of American
College Health. 199846(4)189. Brevard PB,
Ricketts CD. Residence of College Students
Affects Dietary Intake, Physical Activity, and
Serum Lipid Levels. Journal of the American
Dietetic Association. 199696(1)35-38.
Results Forty-nine variables were tested and 9
were found to be statistically significant.
Results indicated that students with prepaid meal
plans consumed fattier, fried foods and less
fresh fruits and vegetables Fried chicken
consumption (P(P fish consumption (P prepaid meal plans selected less fatty foods and
more fresh fruits and vegetables. Removal of skin
from chicken (P consumption (P (P did you take the skin off?
Research Questions The main research question in
this study focused on the dietary differences in
SUU students living on-campus that do and do not
have a prepaid meal plan. Specific areas
examined included Fried food intake Fruit
and vegetable consumption BMI comparison
Lean ground meat consumption Cooked dry bean
consumption Fast food consumption Experimental
Design Each participant completed a 154-question
survey. The survey was administered on the
campus of Southern Utah University. Participants
were recruited using flyers advertising a free
doughnut for completing a survey. Subjects were
all students enrolled at Southern Utah
University 57 subjects 29 male, 28 female 36
with meal plan, 21 without meal plan SPSS 13.0
for Windows was used to perform statistical
analysis. BMI category by meal plan status.
Abstract The purpose of this study was to
compare the diets of university students based on
possession of a prepaid meal plan. Fifty-seven
students living in on-campus housing at Southern
Utah University (average age 19.472.4 50.9
male) completed a survey related to typical
dietary intake habits 36 respondents (67) had a
prepaid meal plan. The data was analyzed using
SPSS 13.0 for Windows. Nine of the 49 variables
tested were found to be significant. The overall
pattern observed suggested that students without
a prepaid meal plan consumed less fried foods
(P.010) and more servings of fruits and
vegetables daily (P.040). Although not
statistically significant, there were two
findings of interest. First 58.3 of students
with a prepaid meal plan ate three meals per day
compared to only 28.6 of students without such a
plan. Secondly, 55.6 of students with a prepaid
meal plan had a BMI within normal range compared
to 81 of students without a prepaid meal plan.
Introduction Consuming a healthy diet has been
shown to help prevent diseases such as coronary
heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers and
osteoporosis (1). According to the Journal of
American Dietetic Association, college students
studied consumed higher than recommended
quantities of total fat, saturated fat,
cholesterol, and sodium ate inadequate amounts
of fruits and vegetables and reported poor
exercise habits (2). These findings are
significant because habits established in the
college years are likely to be continued into
adulthood. This study looked at different
dietary variables to see if there was a
difference between students that had meal plans
and those that did not.