BackgroundIn transitioning from adolescence to adulthood, college students are faced with significant challenges to their health habits. Independence, stress, and perceived lack of time by college students have been known to result in poor eating and exercise habits, which can lead to increased disease risk.ObjectiveTo assess the feasibility and to determine preliminary efficacy of an electronic wellness program in improving diet and physical activity in college students.MethodsA 24-week diet and physical activity program was delivered via email to 148 college students. The intervention involved weekly, tailored, and interactive diet and physical activity goals. The control group received nondiet and nonexercise-related health fact sheets. Anthropometric and blood pressure measurements, as well as food frequency and physical activity surveys were conducted at baseline, week 12, and week 24. Students’ choice of fruit as a snack was also monitored at study visits.ResultsStudents were 18-20 years old, 69% female, and from a diverse college campus (46% Caucasian, 23% Asian, 20% African American, 11% other). At week 24, 84% of students reported reading at least half of all emails. Mean change (standard error [SE]) from baseline of saturated fat intake was marginally significant between the treatment groups at week 24, 0.7 (SE 0.42) % kcal for control and -0.3 (SE 0.30) % kcal for intervention (P=0.048). A significant difference in percent of snacks chosen that were fruit (χ2 1, N=221 = 11.7, P<0.001) was detected between the intervention and control group at week 24.ConclusionsUse of an electronic wellness program is feasible in college students and resulted in a decrease in saturated fat intake and an increase in observed fruit intake compared to a control group.

For many young adults, college is a time of poor dietary habits such as consuming foods high in fat, sugar and total energy and low in fiber. These habits can contribute to long‐term consequences. In order to analyze the dietary habits of college students there needs to be a validated assessment tool. We tailored an ALIVE!© Block food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to this population. We recruited ninety‐four University of Maryland, College Park students (ages 18‐20, 68% female, 46% white/Caucasian, 23% Asian/Pacific Islander, 20% African American, 4% Hispanic, 3 % other). Students kept a food record for two weekdays and one weekend day. Food records were analyzed for nutrient content using Diet Analysis Plus 10th edition software. Trends in consumption of energy, carbohydrates, fiber, saturated fat, trans fat, and fruit and vegetable equivalents were reported. These data were then compared to FFQ data using Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (ρc). The FFQ tends to overestimate calories and saturated fat (ρc = 0.20 and 0.13, respectively) and underestimate trans fat, fruit and vegetables (ρc =0.06, 0.50 and 0.25 respectively). The FFQ is reliable at estimating fiber intake (ρc = 0.31). Overall, the ALIVE!© FFQ has been deemed unreliable in our target population. In future analysis, we will use three‐day food logs to quantify the dietary habits of college students. This Project was aided by University of Maryland College Park, Designated Research Initiative Fund and by Award Number UL1RR031988/UL1TR000075 from the National Institute of Health National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

A diet and exercise intervention program was delivered by e‐mail to college students for 24 weeks to assess whether the program helped improve health habits. The intervention involved tailored, interactive diet and exercise goals. The control group received health fact sheets. Baseline, 12‐week, and 24‐week diet and exercise surveys were completed online. Height, weight, waist circumference (WC) and percent fat mass (FM%) by bioelectrical impedance analysis, were measured at each visit. Subjects were 183 healthy college students (18‐20 years), primarily female (70%) and diverse (36% African American, 33% Caucasian, 19% Asian, 4% Hispanic, 8% Other). At baseline 28% were overweight/obese by BMI, 43% had FM% higher than recommended, 90% consumed <5 fruits and vegetables daily, and 13% exceeded healthy WC guidelines. Mean baseline WC, BMI, FM%, and reported energy intake were not significantly different between control and intervention; furthermore, these measures did not change over time for either group. Healthy college students did not show significant changes in health measures after electronic intervention. Future electronic interventions in college students should focus on students who are at risk for overweight/obesity. Grant Funding Source: Supported by University of MAryland Designated Research Initiative Fund, NIH Award UL1RR031988