Date of Award

Summer 8-18-2023

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Open-Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Foods and Nutrition

Advisor

Jade McNamara

Second Committee Member

Kate Yerxa

Third Committee Member

Angela Daley

Abstract

This research aimed to explore the roles of food security status (FSS), financial literacy (FL), and nutrition literacy (NL) on the diet quality (DQ) of college students at the University of Maine. This research additionally sought to understand mediational relationships among these factors that could impact DQ.

A cross-sectional convenience sample of college students completed an online questionnaire assessing sociodemographic factors, short healthy eating index (sHEI)-score, FSS, FL, and NL. Participants' continuous data were analyzed using a Pearson correlation. Differences between interactive NL and sHEI-score while controlling for gender and meal plan differences were analyzed using a MANCOVA. Additionally, differences between FL attitude and sHEI-score, considering socioeconomic, gender, and meal plan differences, were analyzed using a MANCOVA. A path analysis established which model best fits to explain diet quality in this population.

Participants (N = 903) were primarily White (88.9%), female (70.6%), and on average, 20.9 (±2.3) years old. Interactive NL strongly predicted the total sHEI-score (β=0.27). Macro-level results of the MANCOVA yielded significant differences in sHEI-score between those with high and low interactive NL, F (5, 884) = 16.4, p < 0.001. Significant differences in total sHEI, vegetable, fruit, added sugar, and total saturated fat intake remained after controlling for gender and meal plan differences between groups. Macro-level results of the MANCOVA yielded significant differences in sHEI-score between those with high and low FL attitude, F (5, 820) = 3.9, p = 0.02. Significant differences in total vegetables, saturated fat, and added sugar remained after controlling for socioeconomic status, meal plan, and gender. Interactive NL and FL attitude were strongly correlated (β=0.26). Interactive NL was positively associated with total sHEI-score (p

This study justifies educational and wellness interventions targeting college-aged students’ nutrition and financial literacy to increase diet quality and food security status. Education regarding financial and nutritional literacy builds the foundation to change behavior in early adulthood, resulting in reduced risk of chronic disease development, less burden on healthcare resources, and the potential to pass healthy lifestyles to future generations of leaders.

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