Impact of Nutritional Education Intervention on Food Choice Motivations and Eating Behaviors Among Latin American University Students

ABSTRACT

Background

Nutritional interventions can help to develop healthy eating patterns during the transition to university, which is a critical transition for all college students.

Purpose

This research aims to analyze eating behaviors and food choices through sustainable nutritional education interventions with college students from a multinational university in Latin-America.

Methods

The nutritional intervention had eight sessions emphasizing lifestyle nutrition patterns. There was an intervention group (n = 85), and a control group (n = 80). This research evaluated the eating behaviors and food choice motivators before and after the intervention.

Results

The nutrition education interventions showed that the group under intervention improved, changing from unhealthy to moderately healthy habits, whereas the control groups remained in unhealthy eating behaviors. Food choice motivations slightly differ from the two groups after the intervention.

Discussion

The control group students reflected on their lack of awareness of good eating habits so that current trends could influence their food choices in social networks associated with the pandemic, economic factors, and supply.

Translation to Health Education Practice

The findings from this research highlight opportunities for Certified Health Education Specialists focused on project development and evaluation.

Acknowledgments

To the Institute for Technology in Health Care, and the master’s program in Sustainable Tropical Agriculture (MATS) for funding the materials for the data collection. To Lori Osburn, for the language revision, and to all the students who participated in the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).