The Association among Emotions and Food

Choices in First-Year College Students

Using mobile-Ecological Momentary
Assessments

Our study found participants who reported positive emotions relatively more
often than their peers were more likely to consume meats/proteins. Participants
were also more likely to report the consumption of sweets, and less likely to
consume pizza/fast food, on occasions when they reported positive emotions.
The association of lower consumption of pizza/fast food is consistent with one
previous retrospective study which found that more “healthful” foods and less
“junk” foods were consumed during positive emotions. However, the increased
consumption of sweets was also positively associated with positive emotions
which is not consistent with the retrospective study findings. In focus groups,
college students have said that making healthy food choices can be difficult
because of time constraints, reliance on pre-cooked meals and unhealthy foods
served on campus, and not knowing how to prepare healthy foods for
themselves. Given that emotions are rarely examined in the context of healthy
eating, more research is needed to replicate the current findings. If indeed
emotions are related to healthy food choices, helping students to be more
mindful of their emotions may promote overall greater nutritional status.

Very little is known about how emotions are associated with food choices,
especially in first-year college students. The findings of this secondary data
analysis show that experiencing positive emotions more frequently than others is
associated with an increase in consumption of meats/proteins between
individuals. When participants experienced negative emotions, they were also
significantly more likely report the consumption of meats/proteins; however,
these results are significant for the within-person analyses only. When
participants experienced positive emotions, they were significantly more likely to
be associated with the report of the consumption of sweets and less likely to be
associated with the report of the consumption of pizza/fast food in within person.
Apathetic emotions were not associated with any of the food choices. The
findings from this mEMA study add to the small body of literature that exists
regarding emotions and food choices, providing a better understanding of the
food choices that first-year college students make. Future research should
continue to assess more specific food choices as well as how positive, negative,
and apathetic emotions affect the quantity of foods consumed. mEMA
methodology provides a unique opportunity to examine these associations
within- and between-people, providing insights for individual and population-level
interventions. These findings can be used to develop and test interventions that
encourage healthy food choices among first-year college students and ultimately
reduce the risk of weight gain.

Ashurst, J., van Woerden, I., Dunton, G. et al. The Association among Emotions and
Food Choices in First-Year College Students Using mobile-Ecological Momentary
Assessments. BMC Public Health 18, 573 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-
018-5447-0

The Association among Emotions and Food Choices in First-Year College Students
Using mobile-Ecological Momentary Assessments | BMC Public Health | Full Text
(biomedcentral.com)

A Review of Factors Influencing Athletes’ Food

Choices

The food choice motives of athletes have been explored in only a small number of
studies and further research is needed across a range of sports, competitive
levels and during different stages of a season. This should include a greater
focus on the influence of culture, both within and outside sport, particularly in
recognition of the growing number of participants in sport worldwide. More
research exploring the nutrition knowledge, both health and sport specific, of
athletes is needed, including how this relates to food choice motives and dietary
intake. It is important to consider how taste, one of the strongest determinants of
food choice, may differ amongst athletes and how this may change across sport
and with athlete specific performance goals. The influence of appetite and hunger
and the potential role of macronutrient balance in food choice requires further
investigation, in particular related to the changing eating environments in which
the athlete trains and competes. These include the non- homeostatic factors
related to food environments, such as food marketing, along with restrained
eating practices, which may override internal cues associated with appetite and
hunger. Overall, in view of the unique environments in which the athlete makes
food decisions and the impact of physical exercise on energy demands, the
factors that influence the food choices of athletes is an area worthy of further
investigation. This review demonstrates the many physiological, social,
psychological and economic factors influencing the food choices of both
sedentary and athlete populations. Findings suggest factors important to the
general population, such as taste, health and weight control are also important to
athletes. However, despite the numerous factors known to influence food choice
in general populations, it is difficult to say if and how these also apply to athletes.
An athlete’s calibre, type of sport or stage of training may also play a role.
Furthermore, the pressures associated with body shape and size, common to
many athletes, may also influence food choice. Appreciating the highly
competitive world of sport and the demands faced by athletes to excel, it is
possible performance also plays an important role in food choice, but this is
expected to be influenced by a variety of other factors. Lastly, while this review
highlights the multitude of factors that may influence food decisions, it is 12
important to remember that food choice is dynamic and importance may vary
depending on the time, location and changing situations in which the athlete
makes food choices.

Birkenhead, Karen, Slater, Gary, 2015/08/05, A Review of Factors Influencing

Athletes' Food Choices, 45, 10.1007/s40279-015-0372-1, Sports medicine
(Auckland, N.Z.)
(PDF) A Review of Factors Influencing Athletes' Food Choices (researchgate.net)

A Qualitative Study on Factors that Influence Students

' Food Choices

The student focus group discussions in this study provide rich descriptive data
regarding multi-level factors influencing adolescent food choices, and may help
in increasing the acceptance rate of the school food. Findings from this study
underscore the importance of engaging students in menu preparation and
selection. Students demonstrated a priority for aesthetics of their food
presentation over that of healthy choices, revealing a challenge for food service
directors to present school food in an attractive manner and to ensure the food
tastes good. If students are going to taste the food, the food’s appearance should
be an important factor to all food service staff wanting to increase participation in
the school meal programs. Use of taste testing sessions to expose students to
new menu items would be an effective strategy successfully used in marketing to
increase food acceptability. Taste, visual appeal, and cultural/ethnic
appropriateness are factors that should be considered when designing school
menus to ensure that students will support the foods offered, and Wansink, et al.
also suggest using familiar and attractive words when naming foods in order to
enhance the opportunity of that food being chosen. Additionally, federally funded
school lunch programs are required to design a wellness plan providing nutrition
education, and the findings from this study indicate that such a program was not
identified as a source of nutrition knowledge by the students which could be
targeted in nutrition education efforts. Results from this study will be used to
inform the development of high school menu changes in this population.
A Qualitative Study on Factors that Influence Students’ Food Choices. Journal of
Nutrition & Health, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.13188/2469-4185.1000013

(1) (PDF) A Qualitative Study on Factors that Influence Students' Food Choices |
Trixy Marie Jimanga - Academia.edu