Currently, college students do not have the best eating behaviors or nutritional intake. Most college students are already stressed enough with trying to balance their school and jobs as well as have time for themselves to relax that they don't prioritize their proper nutrition and gain poor eating habits,
The effect of proper nutritional intake and eating habits on academic performance.
It has been reported that many college students do not meet the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables. According to a research article on eating habits and academic performance "When college students did consume a larger amount of produce, their GPA was enhanced by as much as 0.15 points" although .15 points does not seem like a lot it can make a pretty big difference in someones GPA (The Influence of Eating Habits on the Academic Performance of University Students, 2020). In the same research article, they made an analysis on the number of times a college student a breakfast per week as well as the number of times they consumed fast food per week. The results of this were that breakfast consumption had a positive effect on their GPA, while fast food consumption had a negative effect. They concluded that "Healthy eating habits have a positive effect on students’ academic performance. However, other factors, such as sleep habits, may be more important." this shows that having good nutritional intake/eating habits can lead to better academic performance (The Influence of Eating Habits on the Academic Performance of University Students, 2020).
College students’ eating habits and their knowledge of nutritional intake
Many college students for the most part know what is supposed to be a balanced meal as well as being knowledgeable about their nutritional requirements. Although they know this information most of them, tend to pick food options that are more quick and convenient which usually end up being fast food. According to a literature review "Some barriers to healthy behaviors they reported are lack of time, lack of healthy food options, and lack of social support" they also stated, "Some students develop poor eating habits and tend to select food according to convenience, taste, time, and price available to them rather than their nutritional values" (Abraham, Noriega, Shin, 2018). In the article during their research, they concluded that even though students were aware of their recommended nutritional intake many still decided to eat fast food knowing how unhealthy fast food is and well as all the additives the food has, students still ate it due to convenience.