Presentation Type

Poster

Department

Dietetics

Location

Walker Conference Center B

Description

Background: During the transition from late adolescence to young adulthood, the brain requires adequate nutrients to properly develop and prevent psychiatric disorders. However, as teens transition from high school to college, a pattern of high calorie and sugar intake, irregular meals, and lack of consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables becomes predominant. Since college students are at a greater risk of developing mental health disorders compared to other age groups, it is of interest to study the factors that affect this population's mental health.

Design: The design of the study was a survey administered in person. Data was collected over the month of October through an original questionnaire utilizing a Likert scale. Participants/settings: The participants were college students (n=63) on Ouachita Baptist University's (OBU's) campus ranging in age of 18-22 and above. Statistical Analysis: The data was collected and inputted into an Excel spreadsheet to be organized and analyzed. Descriptive statistics were performed along with a variety of functions to determine the degree of correlations in dietary intake and emotional status of individuals. Results: Of all the food items considered, sugary beverages and caffeine intake were found to have a significant positive correlation with mental health where an increased intake of sugary beverages was shown to increase depressive states, while an increased intake of caffeine was shown to increase feelings of anxiety in the participants. Forty-nine percent of the participants consumed fruits and vegetables three to five times per week. Approximately 21 % of participants reported to never eat legumes, and 33% never eat yogurt. Fried foods were consumed three to five times per week by 51 % of respondents. Sugary food and beverage intakes were as high as 79%, and 62% of participants consumed these items more than three times per week. Additionally, 70% of the college students consumed some form of caffeine three or more times per week. The stress levels were high in 40% of participants most of the time. Approximately 95% experienced some form of anxiety at least once in a while, and 63% of participants felt depressed at least every once in a while.

Conclusion: For the purpose of this research, it was concluded that eating habits did not have a significant correlation in the mental health of college students except for caffeine and sugary beverages where higher levels of anxiety and depression was seen in the participants that indicated a higher consumption.

Comments

This poster was presented as part of the Research in Dietetics course (DIET 4092) taught by Mrs. Holly Kyzer.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Apr 27th, 3:15 PM Apr 27th, 4:30 PM

The Effects of Eating Habits on the Mental Health of College Students

Walker Conference Center B

Background: During the transition from late adolescence to young adulthood, the brain requires adequate nutrients to properly develop and prevent psychiatric disorders. However, as teens transition from high school to college, a pattern of high calorie and sugar intake, irregular meals, and lack of consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables becomes predominant. Since college students are at a greater risk of developing mental health disorders compared to other age groups, it is of interest to study the factors that affect this population's mental health.

Design: The design of the study was a survey administered in person. Data was collected over the month of October through an original questionnaire utilizing a Likert scale. Participants/settings: The participants were college students (n=63) on Ouachita Baptist University's (OBU's) campus ranging in age of 18-22 and above. Statistical Analysis: The data was collected and inputted into an Excel spreadsheet to be organized and analyzed. Descriptive statistics were performed along with a variety of functions to determine the degree of correlations in dietary intake and emotional status of individuals. Results: Of all the food items considered, sugary beverages and caffeine intake were found to have a significant positive correlation with mental health where an increased intake of sugary beverages was shown to increase depressive states, while an increased intake of caffeine was shown to increase feelings of anxiety in the participants. Forty-nine percent of the participants consumed fruits and vegetables three to five times per week. Approximately 21 % of participants reported to never eat legumes, and 33% never eat yogurt. Fried foods were consumed three to five times per week by 51 % of respondents. Sugary food and beverage intakes were as high as 79%, and 62% of participants consumed these items more than three times per week. Additionally, 70% of the college students consumed some form of caffeine three or more times per week. The stress levels were high in 40% of participants most of the time. Approximately 95% experienced some form of anxiety at least once in a while, and 63% of participants felt depressed at least every once in a while.

Conclusion: For the purpose of this research, it was concluded that eating habits did not have a significant correlation in the mental health of college students except for caffeine and sugary beverages where higher levels of anxiety and depression was seen in the participants that indicated a higher consumption.