A Marie Curie project on healthy eating behaviour: a case study among college students

Overweight and obesity rates have dramatically increased over the past decades in the United States and especially in the young adult population, aged between of 18 and 29, the incidence rate is the highest (Gordon et al., 2004; Flegal et al. 2010). According to literature (Crombie et al., 2009; Vella-Zarb and Elgar, 2008; Racette et al., 2008), the university period is critical for young adults regarding food choices and the relationship with weight gain. Six focus group discussions have been conducted until saturation of new information was reached. The final sample consisted of 33 students (22 women and 11 men) from a variety of study disciplines and different college years. A semi-structured question guide was developed starting with the appropriate literature (Deliens, Clarys, Bourdeaudhuij and Deforche, 2014) to identify the key questions for the research problem (eating habits, physical activity levels and weight change). Projective techniques have been used to understand better emotional connections and cognitions towards the topic of interest (Mesías and Escribano, 2018). According to the literature (Bloor et al., 2001), the researchers reviewed the transcript encoding and classified the text (using NVivo 11 plus software). An ecological model has been developed using as factors: individual (intrapersonal), social environment (interpersonal), physical environment (community settings), macroenvironment and an additional level of students’ attributes. Finally, ideas and recommendations to facilitate the development of effective and tailored intervention programmes or environmental modifications that support healthy eating have been proposed. This study, which is part of a European project Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) ‘CONSUMEHealth’, investigates the relationship between consumers and healthy eating habits and changes in life course