Objective To examine the prevalence of food insecurity and associations with health outcomes among college freshmen. Methods A diverse sample of freshmen (n=209) attending a large southwestern university and living in campus residence halls completed online surveys; anthropometrics were measured by trained staff. Using mixed logistic regression, associations were examined between food insecurity and health outcomes, adjusting for sociodemographics and clustering of students within residence halls. Results Food insecurity was prevalent, with 32% reporting inconsistent access to food in the past month and 37% in the past three months. Food insecure freshmen had higher odds of depression (OR=2.97; 95% CI=1.58, 5.60) compared to food secure students. Food insecure freshmen had significantly lower odds of eating breakfast, consuming home-cooked meals, perceiving their off-campus eating habits to be healthy, and receiving food from parents, (p<0.05). Conclusions Interventions are needed to support students struggling with food insecurity, as it is related to health outcomes.

BackgroundTo examine longitudinal associations between food insecurity (FI) and health behaviors/outcomes among a diverse sample of university freshmen.MethodsFreshman students (n = 1138; 65% female; 49% non-white) participating in the Social impact of Physical Activity and nutRition in College study completed surveys on health behaviors and had height/weight measured up to 4 times (T1-T4) in Arizona during 2015–2016. Structural equation models were estimated to determine if, after adjusting for covariates, FI predicted concurrent behaviors/outcomes and subsequent behaviors/outcomes. Analyses reported here were conducted in 2017.ResultsThe prevalence of FI was significantly higher at the end of each semester (35% and 36%, respectively) than at the start of the year (28%). Longitudinally, FI was not related to any health behaviors/outcomes at future time points. However, FI was significantly and inversely associated with concurrent breakfast consumption on most days of the week (OR = 0.67, 99% CI = 0.46, 0.99), daily evening meal consumption (OR = 0.55, 99% CI = 0.36, 0.86) healthy eating habits on campus (OR = 0.68, 99% CI = 0.46, 1.00), healthy physical activity habits on campus (OR = 0.66, 99% CI = 0.44, 1.00), and positively related to the likelihood of experiencing stress (OR = 1.69, 99% CI = 1.16, 2.46) and depressed mood (OR = 1.98, 99% CI = 1.34, 2.91).ConclusionsCompared with US prevalence rates, the sample FI prevalence was high. FI was related to poorer eating patterns, physical activity behaviors, and mental health, even after adjusting for prior levels of behavior.

BackgroundThe majority of nutrition and physical activity assessments methods commonly used in scientific research are subject to recall and social desirability biases, which result in over- or under-reporting of behaviors. Real-time mobile-based ecological momentary assessments (mEMAs) may result in decreased measurement biases and minimize participant burden.ObjectiveThe aim was to examine the validity of a mEMA methodology to assess dietary and physical activity levels compared to 24-hour dietary recalls and accelerometers.MethodsThis study was a pilot test of the SPARC (Social impact of Physical Activity and nutRition in College) study, which aimed to determine the mechanism by which friendship networks impact weight-related behaviors among young people. An mEMA app, devilSPARC, was developed to assess weight-related behaviors in real time. A diverse sample of 109 freshmen and community mentors attending a large southwestern university downloaded the devilSPARC mEMA app onto their personal mobile phones. Participants were prompted randomly eight times per day over the course of 4 days to complete mEMAs. During the same 4-day period, participants completed up to three 24-hour dietary recalls and/or 4 days of accelerometry. Self-reported mEMA responses were compared to 24-hour dietary recalls and accelerometry measures using comparison statistics, such as match rate, sensitivity and specificity, and mixed model odds ratios, adjusted for within-person correlation among repeated measurements.ResultsAt the day level, total dietary intake data reported through the mEMA app reflected eating choices also captured by the 24-hour recall. Entrées had the lowest match rate, and fruits and vegetables had the highest match rate. Widening the window of aggregation of 24-hour dietary recall data on either side of the mEMA response resulted in increased specificity and decreased sensitivity. For physical activity behaviors, levels of activity reported through mEMA differed for sedentary versus non-sedentary activity at the day level as measured by accelerometers.ConclusionsThe devilSPARC mEMA app is valid for assessing eating behaviors and the presence of sedentary activity at the day level. This mEMA may be useful in studies examining real-time weight-related behaviors.

BackgroundStudies have examined the associations between emotions and overeating but have only rarely considered associations between emotions and specific food choices. The purpose of this secondary data analysis was to use mobile ecological momentary assessments (mEMAs) to examine associations between emotions and food choices among first-year college students living in residence halls.MethodsUsing an intensive repeated-measures design, mEMAs were used to assess concurrent emotions and food choices in a racially/ethnically diverse sample of first-year college students (n = 663). Emotions were categorized as negative (sad, stressed, tired), positive (happy, energized, relaxed), and apathetic (bored, meh). Assessments were completed multiple times per day on four quasi-randomly selected days (three random weekdays and one random weekend day) during a 7-day period using random prompt times. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to examine between- and within-person associations of emotional status with a variety of healthy and unhealthy food choices (sweets, salty snacks/fried foods, fruits/vegetables, pizza/fast food, sandwiches/wraps, meats/proteins, pasta/rice, cereals), adjusting for gender, day of week, and time of day, accounting for within-person dependencies among repeated measurements of eating behavior.ResultsAt the between-person level, participants who reported positive emotions more frequently compared to others consumed meats/proteins more often (OR = 1.8; 99% CI = 1.2, 2.8). At the within-person level, on occasions when any negative emotion was reported (versus no negative emotion reported) participants were more likely to consume meats/proteins (OR = 1.5, 99% CI = 1.0, 2.1); on occasions when any positive emotion was reported as compared to occasions with no positive emotions, participants were more likely to consume sweets (OR = 1.7, 99% CI = 1.1, 2.6), but less likely to consume pizza/fast food (OR = 0.6, 99% CI = 0.4, 1.0).ConclusionsNegative and positive emotions were significantly associated with food choices. mEMA methodology provides a unique opportunity to examine these associations within and between people, providing insights for individual and population-level interventions. These findings can be used to guide future longitudinal studies and to develop and test interventions that encourage healthy food choices among first-year college students and ultimately reduce the risk of weight gain.

Recent research has documented high rates of food insecurity among university students, particularly students in their first year. Food insecurity among university students has been linked to poorer self‐reported health and academic outcomes. However, few studies have linked reports of food insecurity to objective student outcomes. In this study, we examine how food insecurity is associated with first‐year university students' (n = 591) academic performance, adjusting for objective measures of high school academic performance and self‐reported indicators of socioeconomic background. Zero‐ and one‐inflated beta regression was used to examine if food insecurity predicted grade point average (GPA) in the fall 2015 and spring 2016 semesters. Logistic regression was used to determine if food insecurity at the end of the fall 2015 and spring 2016 semesters was a predictor of retention to fall 2016. Food‐insecure students had a significantly lower GPA than food‐secure students. In fall 2015, 59% of food‐insecure students obtained at least a “B” grade (GPA = 3.00); our models suggest this percentage would increase to 72% if these same students were food secure. Food‐insecure students were less likely to be enrolled in fall 2016 than food‐secure students (OR = 0.72, 95% CI [0.41, 1.27]), though this difference was not statistically significant. These results indicate that food insecurity negatively impacts first‐year university students' academic performance, even after adjusting for high school academic performance and socioeconomic background. Students GPA, and potentially university retention rates, may increase if food insecurity on campus is minimized.