The Effect Of Restaurant Menu Labeling On Attitudes Towards Menu Labeling And Eating Behaviors Of Ncaa Athletes, Recreational Athletes, And Non-Athletes’ In A University Setting

Intro College students eat the majority of their meals outside of the home, which likely means that college students are impacted by calories consumed in restaurants, including campus dining halls. The Affordable Care Act, while not fully operationalized, requires calorie content labels be included on menus and menu boards in restaurants so that consumers are aware of the calories of menu items selected. Therefore, it is important to explore college students, including athletes, attitudes and behaviors toward menu labeling in an on-campus dining facility setting. The objectives of this study were to determine NCAA athletes, recreational athletes, and non-athlete’s attitudes toward nutrition labeling and food consumption behavior before and after menu labeling was implemented in a university dining facility. Methods A pre- and post-intervention survey of students after eating lunch at a university dining facility was conducted to obtain students’ attitude towards menu labeling. The pre-intervention surveys were conducted 30 days prior (February 2017) to the menu labeling implementation and 30 days after (April 2017) the restaurant menu labels were posted. Two-hundred and sixteen respondents participated in the pre-survey and 171 respondents participated in the post survey; total participation of 95 NCAA athletes, 88 recreational athletes, and 204 non-athletes. This study utilized a 2 × 3 between subjects factorial design, and a series of two-way independent ANOVAs, as well as descriptive statistics. Results Based on the results of the study, college student’s attitudes towards restaurant menu labeling did not change between pre and post menu labeling intervention. Additionally, it was found that NCAA athletes’ attitudes towards nutrition information was significantly lower than the other two groups. This study was similar to other studies that found Gen Y’s are likely to not decrease their calorie consumption when presented with restaurant menu labeling.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S. in Food and Nutrition Services

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Nutrition and Hospitality Management

Year dc:date.available

2018

Author dc:creator

• Mitchell, Virginia

Contributors dc:contributor

• Mary G. Roseman
• Hyun-Woo Joung
• Melinda Valliant

• Athletes
• Gen Y
• Menu Labeling
• University Dining Hall
• Nutrition

Repository record dc:identifier

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/601

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:egrove.olemiss.edu:etd-1600