Identification of three dietary groups in French university students and their associations with nutritional quality and environmental impact

IntroductionThe student period is associated with changes in eating habits, usually leading to diets of lower nutritional quality. However, some variability may exist in students’ dietary patterns. We aimed to describe French students’ diets and identify dietary groups that may vary in nutritional quality and environmental impact.MethodsA representative sample of French students (N = 582) for age, sex and scholarship status completed an online 125-item food frequency questionnaire. The nutritional quality of diets was assessed by a score of adherence to the French nutritional guidelines (sPNNS-GS2 score, ranging from−17 to 11.5) and its environmental impact by greenhouse gas emissions for an isocaloric diet (GHGE). An ascending hierarchical classification analysis on food and beverage intakes led to three dietary groups. Between-group differences in food consumption, dietary indicators and sociodemographic characteristics were investigated using ANOVA models.ResultsThe average sPNNS-GS2 score of students’ diets was −0.8 ± 2.8, representing a 57% coverage of French nutritional recommendations, and GHGE were 5.4 ± 1.7 kg eCO2/2000 kcal. The three dietary groups were: a healthy diet group (20% of the sample) with the highest nutritional quality and high GHGE, which included older students with a higher level of physical activity; a Western diet group (40%) with the worst nutritional quality and high GHGE, which included more students who lived with their parents; and a frugal diet group (40%) with the lowest energy intake, intermediate nutritional quality, and low GHGE, which included more students who lived alone.ConclusionNone of the dietary groups optimized both nutritional quality and environmental impact simultaneously, which suggests an apparent incompatibility in the student population between these two sustainability dimensions. These findings emphasize the need for tailored public health policies that acknowledge the diversity of student eating patterns and address specific individual barriers to healthy and sustainable diets

Availability of vegetarian main meals served in a university cafeteria of Dijon.

Effects of increasing the availability of vegetarian main meals served in a university cafeteria of Dijon on the sustainability of food choices

Quelle place pour la durabilité de l'alimentation chez les étudiants ? Une revue de la littérature des pratiques alimentaires des étudiants

National audienc

Behavioural determinants of healthy and environmentally friendly diets in French students

International audienc

Protocol and statistical analysis plan - impact of environmental labelling on food choices: a randomized controlled trial in a virtual reality supermarket

A 2-arm randomised control trial (with and without labels) will be conducted to test the effects of an environmental label on food choices in a virtual supermarket. A sample of 130 participants will take part in two shopping tasks: 1/ selection of 3 products to prepare a home-made dish, and 2/ selection of a ready-to-eat dish. These two tasks will be repeated for two scenarios: 1/ participants will be asked to select the foods for usual meals, and 2/ participants will be asked to select the foods for environmentally-friendly meals. This experimental design will allow to compare food choices in the presence vs. the absence of an environmental label and to investigate whether the label is informative and likely to help individuals to choose more environmental-friendly food options when explicitly asked to do so

Qualité nutritionnelle et impact environnemental de l'alimentation des étudiants : mise en évidence de trois typologies de mangeurs

National audienc

Effects of increasing the availability of vegetarian options on main meal choices, meal offer satisfaction and liking: a pre-post analysis in a French university cafeteria

International audienceBackground Changing the food environment is an important public health lever for encouraging sustainable food choices. Targeting the availability of vegetarian main meals served in cafeterias substantially affects food choice, but acceptability has never been assessed. We examined the effects of an availability intervention at a French university cafeteria on students’ main meal choices, meal offer satisfaction and liking. Methods A four-week controlled trial was conducted in a university cafeteria in Dijon, France. During the two-week control period, vegetarian main meals constituted 24% of the offer. In the subsequent two-week intervention period, this proportion increased to 48%, while all the other menu items remained unchanged. Students were not informed of the change. Student choices were tracked using production data, and daily paper ballots were used to assess student satisfaction with the meal offer and liking of the main meal they chose (score range [1;5]). Nutritional quality, environmental impact, and cost of production of meal choices were calculated for each lunchtime. Food waste was measured over 4 lunchtimes during control and intervention periods. An online questionnaire collected student feedback at the end of the study. Results Doubling availability of vegetarian main meals significantly increased the likelihood of choosing vegetarian options (OR = 2.57, 95% CI = [2.41; 2.74]). Responses of the paper ballots ( n = 18,342) indicated slight improvements in meal offer satisfaction from 4.05 ± 0.92 to 4.07 ± 0.93 ( p = 0.028) and in liking from 4.09 ± 0.90 to 4.13 ± 0.92 ( p < 0.001) during control and intervention periods, respectively. The end-of-study questionnaire ( n = 510) revealed that only 6% of students noticed a change the availability of vegetarian main meals. The intervention led to a decrease in the environmental impact of the main meals chosen, a slight decrease in nutritional quality, a slight increase in meal costs and no change in food waste. Conclusions Doubling availability of vegetarian main meals in a university cafeteria resulted in a twofold increase in their selection, with students reporting being more satisfied and liking the main meals more during the intervention period. These results suggest that serving an equal proportion of vegetarian and nonvegetarian main meals could be considered in French university cafeterias to tackle environmental issues. Trial registration Study protocol and analysis plan were pre-registered on the Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/pf3x7/ )

Effects of doubling the availability of vegetarian meals on meal choices, meal offer satisfaction and liking in university cafeterias: a controlled trial in France

International audienc

Behavioural determinants of healthy and environmentally friendly diets in French university students

https://doi-org.proxy.insermbiblio.inist.fr/10.1016/j.appet.2024.107532International audienceAlthough encouraging the shift toward sustainable diets in young adults is a major challenge to preserve population and planet health, the precursors of sustainable diets in this population remain unknown. This study aimed to identify the behavioural determinants of healthier and more environmentally friendly diets among university students. A sample of 582 French university students reported their food consumption using an online 125-item food frequency questionnaire. The nutritional quality (adherence to French recommendations, sPNNS-GS2) and the greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) of students' diets were calculated for an isocaloric diet. Behavioural determinants were measured based on a literature review and classified into the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation Behaviour (COM-B) framework. Linear models, adjusted for socioeconomic characteristics, were run to identify the most prominent behavioural predictors of nutritional quality and GHGE of students' diets. Higher cooking skills (beta = 0.38, p = 0.01) and health motives (beta = 0.91, p < 0.001) were associated with higher nutritional quality. Greater environmental knowledge was linked to lower GHGE (beta = -0.07, p = 0.002), while health and weight control motives were associated with higher GHGE (beta = 0.26, p = 0.02 and beta = 0.39, p < 0.001). Enhancing cooking skills and environmental knowledge could enable healthy and environmentally friendly diets, but health-based motives can act as a lever and as a barrier