Running head: PHASE 1: NUTRITIONAL HABITS 1

The Nutritional Habits of College Students

Michelle Boyer, Kristen Eissmann, Aly Wells

RCLS 425: Evaluation in Recreation and Leisure Services

April 26th, 2019

Dr. Matthew Chase

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Introduction

Nutrition has been a highly discussed topic over the years to evaluate its role in

maintaining the health and wellness of a person’s well-being. For millennia, the discussion and

research of nutrition has primarily focused on the nutritional contents of food and its differing

effects on people’s health. The purpose of this paper is to address the extent to which RCLS 425

college students engage in healthy eating habits. The paper is constructed into six different

sections being; why we are exploring the topic of nutrition, what we are exploring, who our

chosen respondents are, when the evaluation will take place, where the evaluation will be, and

lastly, how we will engineer this evaluation. The following background will address the history

of nutrition, its role in people’s health, and the various interpersonal, external, and intrapersonal

factors influencing people’s nutritional habits.

Why?

Background.

Despite the significant health effects linked with certain foods and eating habits, vast

amounts of people still partake in poor nutrition habits. Consequently, researchers are diving into

possible considerations for this reason and the effects poor diet has on people’s health and

lives. With this background, research is approaching new avenues of research dedicated towards

linking the effects interpersonal and external barriers have on people’s decisions to engage in a

healthy nutrition lifestyle (Harmon, Forthofer, Bantum, & Nigg, 2016). The best target

population for examining these differences is college students.

The transition to a collegiate lifestyle and schedule differs greatly from high

school. College students experience newly found freedoms, but with these freedoms comes

additional responsibilities including larger workloads and new financial expectations. Many
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college students live independently, and no longer rely on financial support from their families.

Thus, they must pay for the necessities their families once paid for. With the extra workload,

students may struggle between maintaining their new work and social life balance. As a result,

students could experience financial constraints, limiting their ability to purchase healthy foods.

According to Watson, Malan, and Martinez (2017), “Since the Great Recession in 2008, a

rapidly growing number of U.S. studies have documented student food insecurity…it is

estimated that food insecurity ranges from 14% to 72%” (p. 130).

Furthermore, increased academia workload periods, such as during finals week, causes a

rise in junk food consumption. According to Lien and Zheng (2018), “In our restaurant

transactions data from a large U.S. university throughout the academic year, we find that during

high workload times, when individuals have high cognitive self-control demands, eating at fast

food restaurants is substantially more likely to occur” (p. 385). Additionally, high stress periods

can also alter nutrition choices. Healthiness and tastiness produce a negative correlation as a

result of the human psyche associating tasty with unhealthy food choices (Choi & Springston,

2014). There are conscious and subconscious factors playing into people’s nutrition choices.

Consequently, as a result of constantly consuming fast food, education systems are seeing

decreased test scores (Tobin, 2013).

While financials may impede nutrition convenience is another external factor. Most

college students remain on campus until all required events for that day are completed. Thus,

they tend to eat and hangout on campus through their school day. In fact another study founded

snacking proves beneficial for the human development processes, but is often done incorrectly as

a result of poor food choices (Nicklas, O’Neil, and Fulgoni, 2014, p. 3). On average, students

who do consume on campus food, consume it at least 3 times a week (Pelletier & Laska, 2013).
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While food on campus is extremely convenient, it does not necessarily mean it is healthy.

According to Pelletier and Laska (2013), “Frequent campus area purchasing was associated with

diets higher in fat and added sugars and more meal skipping, mirroring results found for fast-

food purchasing” (p. 84). Thus, the people buying on-campus food, were not eating as healthy as

they could have been. Likewise, the study concluded the nutritional contents in on-campus food

options matched the fat contents in fast food foods located off campus (Pelletier & Laska,

2013). This could be a major factor contributing to increased obesity rates.

College students nutrition literacy and psyche can additionally alter nutrition choices.

Most college students are not in the dark regarding how they should be eating. According to

Swetaa, Gayatrhi and Priya (2018), “About 82.4% of the college students are already aware of a

balanced diet” (p. 1). With this knowledge, college students still make conscious decisions to eat

junk food. About 59.6% practice unhealthy eating habits while being aware that they are eating

food that is not good for them (Swetaa, Gayatrhi & Priya, 2018). A partial reasoning for these

decisions has to do with food companies marketing tactics. According to Choi and Springston,

(2014), “…the halo effect is relevant to the way risk-avoidance and benefit-seeking appeals work

in food advertising to reduce the perceived risks or enhance the perceived benefits of food

products” (p. 1050). In another study conducted by Ashurst, Woerden, Dunton, Todd, Ohri-

Vachaspati, and Swan, 2018) a positive correlation between emotional vulnerability and stressful

periods was founded with unhealthy eating habits (p. 1-3). These studies are indicative that food

literacy and psyche are not independent of each other but rather are combined. College students

are not choosing unhealthy foods with only their free will, but rather because of manipulative

tactics, misunderstandings of food labels, and their ever fluctuating emotional states of mind.
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Researchers are finding multiple external, interpersonal, and intrapersonal factors affect

college students’ nutrition decisions. Collectively, one barrier does not exclude the other, and as

a result of the multiple combinations, nutrition habits are majorly affected. In understanding this

background our evaluation process will encompass all factors.

Purpose statement.

The purpose of this brief survey project is to explore what the views around nutritional

eating habits are amongst RCLS 425 students. We seek to explore how the nutritional habits of

college students effects the realms of their everyday life such as; social life, academia, and

physical well-being.

Resources.

The following table lists the resources and costs generated to successfully accomplish this

research project. These resources include; personnel, technological fees, recording device,

snacks/ beverages, gas, and stationery/printing.

Line Item Purpose Budget

Personnel Voluntary participation $0

Technological Fee WiFi, Computer $95

Recording Device Utilized for data collection $110

during surveys

Snacks/Beverages To keep our participants $20

engaged

Gas Group members travel to and $175

from the EWU campus

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Stationary/Printing Research proposal, Survey, $45

and Presentation paper

printing

Total of all line items $445

What?

Model.

For the purpose of this research project we will be utilizing the goal free attainment model

because we as establishing a baseline for future research projects. This model type begins with a

broad, goal free evaluation to discover the outcomes without considering what the outcomes will

be. The model allows for freedom in the research in terms of not having a predetermined end

product (Henderson, Bialeschki, & Browne, 2017).

Criteria. Criteria refers to the standards or ideals upon which something is evaluated or

studied. Further criteria will determine to a great extent what method would be best to use

(Henderson, et al., 2017). There are some overarching issues specific to our research

project. These include biases and knowledge of nutrition. Thus, we are looking to discover to

what extent RCLS 425 college students engage in healthy eating habits. We will be measuring

and implementing our research by means of a survey.

Data Type(s). By means of the survey, we will perform both a qualitative and

quantitative approach. Qualitative data collection assists in compiling context filled responses

whereas qualitative data focuses on sufficient context free responses. To emphasize further,

quantitative data aims to confirm and validate, whereas qualitative aims to explore and interpret
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(Henderson, et al., 2017). These data collection approaches will assist in our research data

collection amongst college students. This will be further discussed in the following sections.

Who?

Potential Audience.

The target potential audience for this research project would include faculty and campus

life at Eastern Washington University, in addition to fellow nutritionists, and health and wellness

majors. These populations of interest would find the data compilation from this project useful

because it pertains to possible further research interests, projects, and the impact of proactive

nutrition habits. As Therapeutic Recreation majors we Michelle, Kristen, and Aly will serve as

facilitators of this project.

Group Members.

Aly Wells

Kristen Eissmann

Michelle Boyer

Sample Population. This study will be compiled of a sample of students from Eastern

Washington University (EWU) enrolled in the RCLS 425 class. EWU is a public university

located outside of Spokane, WA in Cheney. EWU offers over 100 fields of study. This

convenient sample will embody three of those fields; Therapeutic Recreation, Recreation and

Tourism Management, and Outdoor Recreation Leadership. Approximately 92 students are

declared in one of these three fields of study. 45 of those students are currently enrolled in

Evaluation in Recreation and Leisure Services (RCLS 425) and students enrolled in all three

programs are required to take and pass this class. All of these programs are accredited through

the National Recreation and Parks Association.

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When?

Timing.

For this research project we will be utilizing the assessment evaluation process. An

assessment evaluation is a way to narrow down the gaps within the Five P’s: personnel, places,

policies, participants, and program quality (Henderson, et al., 2017). Moreover, it helps clarify

which needs should be used and the context surrounding them. According to Henderson,

Bialeschki, and Browne (2017), “The assessment is based on determining criteria, collecting

evidence and making judgements about where any of the five P’s of your organization are now,

where they should go in the future, and how to get there” (p. 79).

Timeline. The following is the timeline of our research events:

April 26th: Due date for Phase I Group Research Proposal

May 7th- May 8th: Focus group interviews

May 16th: Distribution of a take home surveys

May 20th: Take home surveys returned

May 29th: Group presentations

June 5th : Phase II Focus Group Report and Phase III Survey Research Report due

Where?

Sample Size, Composition, and Technique

To research to what extend RCLS 425 students engage in healthy eating habits our group

will be interviewing a sample size taken from the forty five students enrolled in Dr. Matthew

Chase’s 425 2019 spring Evaluation class. By utilizing this population we are using a

convenience sample because the respondents are voluntarily participating. Convenience

sampling is also cost effective and time efficient (Henderson, et al., 2017).
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Each sample size group will consist of six class members voluntarily representing three

of the PEHR majors. These include Therapeutic Recreation, Outdoor Recreation and Recreation

Tourism and Management. All selected groups are chosen by Dr. Matthew Chase from his

RCLS 425 2019 spring class. Once the sample groups are established each participant will be

given a questionnaire. It is from these questionnaires our data will be derived.

A drawback to conducting our evaluation in this manner is that it cannot be generalizable,

although it does have external validity (Henderson, et al., 2017). Convenience sampling cannot

be considered as random sampling, therefore the selected groups cannot be accepted as an

accurate representation of the whole population.

How?

Methods.

The method used for this evaluation project will be the triangular method. This mixed

design allows for the application of the descriptive design method by conjoining the data

founded from the qualitative and quantitative components (Henderson, et al., 2017). The

purpose for utilizing the descriptive design method is because the goal of this evaluation is to

establish a baseline. Moreover, descriptive design gathers empirical data. Empirical data can be

either quantitative or qualitative. Qualitative data is concerned with discovering the contexts in

which people view situations. In contrast, quantitative data provides statistical documentation to

elaborate the results of the qualitative portion. In order to be considered unbiased or valid,

empirical evidence requires integrity and accuracy throughout the project (Henderson, et al.,

2017).

Gathering qualitative data will be done through our focus groups and the quantitative

component will be accomplished by the use of a questionnaire. Qualitative and Quantitative data
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will produce reliable, valid, and usable results. Focus groups consist of people whom can

provide qualitative data concerning a topic with purpose and are time efficient. Additionally,

this evaluation method allows for group conversation rather than conversation strictly taking

place between the evaluator and the respondent (Henderson, et al., 2017).

Interviews will be lead with an open ended interview guide. Formatting our methods in

this fashion allows the founded data to be trustworthy. The triangular method will be applied as

each group member meets and altogether compiles the data founded during our qualitative and

quantitative data collection.

Analysis Techniques. A big step in data analysis is the organizing of variables used in

order to collect data. Another word for this is coding (Henderson, et al., 2017). Qualitative

coding and quantitative coding will both be used in this research questionnaire and project.

We also will be taking data and assessing it by means of mean, median, and mode. The

mode is the most seen value present, mean is the average, and the median is the middle value

within the results.

The methods previously outlined in our methods category will aim to guide a structured,

open ended interview and survey. Further survey questions will be determined during our focus

group data collection.

Special Considerations. There are no special considerations for this research project.
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References

Ashurst, J., van Woerden, I., Dunton, G., Todd, M., Ohri-Vachaspati, P., Swan, P., et al. (2018).

The association among emotions and food choices in first-year college students using

mobile-ecological momentary assessments. BMC Public Health, 18(1), N.PAG-N.PAG.

doi:10.1186/s12889-018-5447-0

Choi, H., & Springston, J. (2014). How to use health and Nutrition–Related claims correctly on

food advertising: Comparison of benefit-seeking, risk-avoidance, and taste appeals on

different food categories. Journal of Health Communication, 19(9), 1047-1063.

doi:10.1080/10810730.2013.872723

Harmon, B. E., Forthofer, M., Bantum, E. O., & Nigg, C. R. (2016). Perceived influence and

college students' diet and physical activity behaviors: An examination of ego-centric

social networks. BMC Public Health, 16(1), 1-10. doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3166-y

Henderson, K. A., Bialeschki, M. D., & Browne, L.P. (2017). Evaluating Recreation Services

Making Enlightened Decisions. Urbana, IL: Sagamore Venture Publishing LLC.

Lien, J. W., & Zheng, J. (2018). Are work intensity and healthy eating substitutes? field evidence

on food choices under varying workloads. Journal of Economic Behavior &

Organization, 145, 370-401. doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2017.10.019

Nicklas, T. A., O'Neil, C. E., & Fulgoni III, V. L. (2014). Snacking patterns, diet quality, and

cardiovascular risk factors in adults. BMC Public Health, 14(1), 1-27. doi:10.1186/1471-

2458-14-388

Pelletier, J. E., & Laska, M. N. (2013). Campus food and beverage purchases are associated with

indicators of diet quality in college students living off campus. American Journal of

Health Promotion, 28(2), 80-87. doi:10.4278/ajhp.120705-QUAN-326

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Swetaa, A., Gayathri, R., & Vishnu Priya, V. (2018). Awareness on balanced diet and eating

practices among college students - A survey. Drug Invention Today.

Tobin, K. J. (2013). Fast-food consumption and educational test scores in the USA. Child: Care,

Health & Development, 39(1), 118-124. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2214.2011.01349.x

Watson, T. D., Malan, H., Glik, D., & Martinez, S. M. (2017). College students identify

university support for basic needs and life skills as key ingredient in addressing food

insecurity on campus: Food insecurity is a persistent stressor for some students; food

literacy may help improve student well-being. California Agriculture, 71(3), 130-138.

doi:10.3733/ca.2017a002