Influences on College Students' Eating Habits

Abstract

This study aims to examine the factors that influence college students' eating habits and that may impede them from eating how they would prefer to eat by surveying 219 undergraduate college students, looking especially at the impacts of time and money on college students' eating habits. The results show that money does not affect all students equally but disproportionately affects students of lower economic classes. Social class and time constraints make eating healthy difficult for many college students. Students today have busy lives because they are not only students but workers, volunteers, and participants in campus organizations. Prices of food also have lead students to seek out cheaper, often unhealthy food choices. Unfortunately, eating healthy costs more money in our society. While in my study I look at college students these same issues are relevant and visible in a larger society as well.