College Students' Perceived Differences Between the Terms Real Meal, Meal, and Snack.

OBJECTIVE: To assess qualitatively and quantitatively college students' perceived differences between a real meal, meal, and snack.

DESIGN: A descriptive study design was used to administer an 11-item online survey to college students.

SETTING: Two university campuses in the western US.

PARTICIPANTS: Pilot testing was conducted with 20 students. The final survey was completed by 628 ethnically diverse students.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Students' perceptions of the terms real meal, meal, and snack.

ANALYSIS: Three researchers coded the data independently, reconciled differences via conference calls, and agreed on a final coding scheme. Data were reevaluated based on the coding scheme. Means, frequencies, Pearson chi-square, and t test statistics were used.

RESULTS: More than half of students perceived a difference between the terms real meal and meal. Most (97.6%) perceived a difference between the terms meal and snack. A marked difference in the way students defined these terms was evident, with a real meal deemed nutritious and healthy and meeting dietary recommendations, compared with meals, which were considered anything to eat.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: These findings suggest that the term real meal may provide nutrition educators with a simple phrase to use in educational campaigns to promote healthful food intake among college students.