How Well Are College Freshmen Meeting Recommendations for Fruits, Vegetables, Whole Grains, Physical Activity, and Sleep?

Abstract

The Better Eating Starts Today (B.E.S.T.) Project is an intervention to support healthy campus initiatives to prevent obesity among college students. The project is integrated into multiple offerings of a required health and fitness course at Oregon State University running Sep 2012‐Mar 2014. A 24‐item online pre/post survey measures health related behavior changes resulting from the class intervention. This abstract describes self‐reported baseline pre‐survey data from 281 consenting participants recruited from the Fall 2012 enrollment of 1,876. Mean age was 19.2 ± 3.2 years (55% female) and mean Body Mass Index was 23.3 ± 4.7. More than half (52%) of all participants self‐reported meeting at least one or more behavior recommendations 3 days/week including: servings of fruits and vegetables, consuming at least half dietary grains as whole grains; having ≥ 30 minutes of physical activity at moderate/vigorous intensity, or getting adequate sleep. A mean score (0 = very low; 5 = very high) for participant‐perceived ability to achieve/maintain a healthy diet was 3.6; physical activity was 3.7; and to manage stress was 3.5. Post data surveys will be collected in Dec 2012 for pre‐post comparisons, which will include participant self‐analysis of their own healthy diet and activity goal achievement. This research is supported by PacificSource Healthcare.