Residency has no significant effect on the dietary habits of female Messiah College students

Gabrielle Alderfer, Safoora Azeem, Andrea Gamber, Elizabeth Hackman Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Messiah College, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
Introduction
Research shows that college students do not typically meet their nutritional recommendations (1,2). Various environmental factors affect the dietary intake of college students. Therefore, it is beneficial to conduct further research regarding residencys effect on dietary intake (3,4).

Results
Average intake was similar between commuter and dormitory students for all food groups except dairy, p-value = 0.004 (Table 1).

Commuter students consumed an average of 7.4 2.0 oz. grain, 1.6 0.7 cups vegetables, 1.4 1.0 cups fruit, 1.8 0.60 cups dairy and 4.8 1.5 oz. protein (Table 1). Dormitory students consumed an average of 6.2 3.0 oz. grain, 1.5 0.6 cups vegetables, 1.9 1.0 cups fruit, 2.1 2.0 cups dairy and 5.5 3.0 oz. protein (Table 1). Table 1. Means and standard deviations of consumption of each food group according to residence group (commuter and dormitory students)

Research Question
Does residency (living in a dormitory or commuting) have an effect on the dietary habits of female college students?

Hypothesis
Dormitory students will consume fewer servings from each food group than commuter student.

Subjects
28 female Messiah College students recruited through posters, email, information sessions, information booths, classroom recruitment and word of mouth. 13 commuter students, 15 dormitory students

Conclusion
In analyzing individual nutritional needs, commuter students met their recommendations more adequately than dormitory students (Figure 1). The hypothesis was rejected as intake for almost all food groups was similar between commuters and dormitory students (Table 1). If a sample size of 50 subjects per group would have been reached, the significance of residency on dietary intake could have been determined.

Methods
Subjects completed 3-day food records which included directions on determining portion sizes. Subjects were also instructed to record anthropometric data. Food intake records were analyzed on choosemyplate.gov using SuperTracker. Microsoft Excel 2007 was used to perform an unpaired T-test to determine the differences between commuter and dormitory student food group intakes. In comparing commuter students nutritional needs to their actual dietary intake, 92% of commuter students met their grain needs, 23% met their vegetable needs, 69% met their fruit needs, 15% met their dairy needs, and 54% met their protein needs (Figure 1).

References
1. Anding JD, Suminski RR, Boss L. Dietary intake, body mass index, exercise, and alcohol: Are college women following the Dietary Guidelines for Americans? J Am Coll Health. 2001;49:167 171. 2 Beerman KA, Jennings G, Crawford S. The effect of student residence on food choice. J Am Coll Health. 1990;38:215-220. 3.Brevard PB, Ricketts CD. Residence of College Students Affects Dietary Intake, Physical Activity, and Serum Lipid Levels. J Am Diet Assoc. 1996;96(1):35-38. 4. Campbell KJ, Crawford DA, Salmon J, Carver A, Garnett SP, Baur LA. Associations between the home food environment and obesity-promoting eating behaviors in adolescence. IJO. 2007;15:719 730.

In comparing dorm students nutritional needs to their actual dietary intake, 60% of dorm students met their grain needs, 20% met their vegetable needs, 60% met their fruit needs, 40% met their dairy needs, and 73% met their protein needs (Figure 1).