Habitual tendency, cooking methods, and development of food choices behavior

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate students’ preference for food prepared in university dining halls. The students’ understanding of cooking methods and related health states based on their food choices were also examined. Methodology: A quantitative research method was employed using a one-way analysis of variance. The conceptual model of food choice was used to determine the reasons for students’ preferences for campus food. The study was conducted from September to November 2018; six cooking methods were identified and a record of 98 meals was captured for investigation. Undergraduate students were invited to participate in the investigation and 461 were retained for analysis. Results: Stir-frying is a common method in food preparation, followed by frying. Students had a strong preference for food prepared by baking, frying, and boiling. Less preference was seen for food prepared by steaming and stir-frying. Freshmen students were in favour of college food but their interest declined when they reached senior level. An unhealthy food choice understanding was observed. This understanding may indicate unhealthy perceptions of food intake. Such unhealthy food choice habit does not decrease with increasing age. Conclusion: The food choice decision involves a complex cognition process towards food understanding, mindset, and previous experiences. It will be an undesired consequence if unhealthy food choices are being reinforced because of the unhealthy or not preferred methods of food preparation. This study’s findings indicate such connections, and future studies should analysing food processing and health development.