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. 2023 Feb 21;12(5):917.
doi: 10.3390/foods12050917.

Perceptions of Food among College Students in the Field of Food Science: A Food Sustainability Approach

Maria Clara de Moraes Prata Gaspar  1   2 , Claudia Soar  3 , Mari Aguilera  4   5   6 , Maria Clara Gomez  1 , Ricard Celorio-Sardà  2   7   8 , Oriol Comas-Basté  2   7   8 , Cristina Larrea-Killinger  1   2   9 , M Carmen Vidal-Carou  2   7   8
Affiliations

Perceptions of Food among College Students in the Field of Food Science: A Food Sustainability Approach

Maria Clara de Moraes Prata Gaspar et al. Foods. .

Abstract

The complex concept of food sustainability has become crucial in all spheres of life. Dietitians, food scientists, and technologists are in a unique position to promote sustainability in food systems. However, the perceptions of food sustainability among food science professionals and college students are under-researched, particularly in Spain. The aim of this study was therefore to analyze perceptions related to food and to food sustainability in a sample of Human Nutrition and Dietetics (HND) and Food Science and Technology (FST) students in Barcelona (Spain). An exploratory and descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out using qualitative and quantitative methodology and convenience sampling. Two focus groups and an online questionnaire were conducted (300 participants completed the survey, 151 from HND and 149 from FST). Although the students expressed concern about food sustainability, their dietary choices were primarily associated with or influenced by taste/pleasure and health/nutrition. The issue of sustainability seemed more internalized by women than men, whereas the generalized conception of a sustainable diet was essentially based on environmental aspects, with socioeconomic dimensions largely overlooked. The concept of sustainability should be promoted among food science students in all its multidimensionality, and actions need to be implemented that bring sustainability closer to students' social practices, which should be incorporated into all university education and that is taught by professors duly trained in the subject.

Keywords: college students; dietetic; eating practices; food; food technology; perception; sustainable diet.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Word cloud based on associations with food. Larger font means higher frequency of mentions. Different colors here are used for better clarity of the different words, they don’t follow a specific pattern.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Self-assessment of eating practices: the level of agreement with different diet typologies among college students pursuing bachelor’s degrees in Human Nutrition and Dietetics (HND) and Food Science and Technology (FST), showing the distribution (%) of responses.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The level of agreement with different dietary typologies in the student dietary self-assessment according to gender, showing the distribution (%) of responses.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The level of concern for different food-related issues among college students pursuing bachelor’s degrees in Human Nutrition and Dietetics (HND) and Food Science and Technology (FST), showing the distribution (%) of responses.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The level of concern for different food-related issues among college students pursuing bachelor’s degrees in Human Nutrition and Dietetics (HND) and Food Science and Technology (FST) according to gender, showing the distribution (%) of responses.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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