Healthy Food Choice and Physical Activity Among Minority College Students: Survey Study

Author : Yolanda Savoy, EDD, Monique V. Bernier, EDD; Gary Reglin, EDD

The problem was little awareness of barriers to healthy food choice and physical activity that contributed to obesity among 18- to 25-year-old African/African American and Latino/Hispanic American students at a university in South Florida. The purpose was to identify the barriers. The research question was, What are the perceived barriers to healthy food choice and physical activity among minority college students? Data collection occurred with the Motivators of and Barriers to Health-Smart Behaviors Inventory-Adapted. Surveyed were 114 students. Survey distribution and data analysis occurred with Survey Monkey. Data analysis included frequencies, percentages, and t-tests. Most students agreed that in their culture, it was not common to eat fruit. They thought healthy foods were not easy to find at restaurants and liked to eat unhealthy foods when angry or sad. Most students did not like the taste of low-fat foods and sometimes forgot about trying to eat healthily. Students agreed that when someone gave them unhealthy food, they ate the unhealthy food. Students agreed they would rather watch TV or play video games than do something physically active. They were always making excuses not to exercise. Most students agreed that integrating physical activities into their schedules was hard to do.

Keywords : Health behavior, physical activity, obesity, barriers, minority group students, food choice,

Received:3/2/2024 12:00:00 AM; Accepted: 3/30/2024 12:00:00 AM