Relationship Between Meal Plan, Dietary Intake, Body Mass Index, and Appetitive Responsiveness in College Students.

INTRODUCTION: One third of the approximately 23,000 undergraduates in the United States are overweight or obese. College students appear to be more vulnerable to disproportionate weight gain during this time.

METHOD: Cross-sectional. Diet, body mass index, and appetitive responsiveness were assessed in 80 undergraduates enrolled in three different meal plans, unlimited access, points, and none.

RESULTS: Appetitive responsiveness was positively correlated with fat (r = 0.34, p = .002) but not added sugars across groups. Unlimited access-plan students had higher fat consumption than no-plan students, regardless of appetitive responsiveness. Unlimited access-plan students had higher fruit and vegetable consumption and higher dairy consumption than point-plan students. There were no group differences for body mass index. All groups were below the U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines for dairy and fruit and vegetable intake.

DISCUSSION: Optimizing the college campus food environment toward healthful, affordable choices is likely to improve dietary habits and might minimize college weight gain.