Abstract
BackgroundStudents live outside of their family homes for the first time in college and are expected to make their own decisions regarding dietary choices. College food environment could be a major determinant of dietary intake and is of importance in relation to obesity. This research determines the impact of removing cafeteria trays on student’s food choice.MethodA quasi experimental pre-post research with control treatment was conducted in university dining halls. The participants were the dining hall patrons at a large public university in Southern US, spring 2015. The dining hall trays were removed from the intervened dining hall for five consecutive days during regular university session. Outcome measures of food choice were collected by observing tray waste before and after the tray removal in the intervened dining hall with parallel observation in the control dining hall. Difference-in-difference analysis was done to find the intervention effect.ResultsA total of 3153 trays were observed (N = 1564 in control and N = 1589 in intervention dining). Removal of trays resulted in a significant decrease in the total number of lunch plates (1.76 vs 1.66 servings, p < .006), drink glasses (1.32 vs 1.02 servings, p < .0001), dishes with leftovers (0.56 vs 0.39 serving, P < .001), and lunch plates with leftovers (0.51 vs 0.35 servings, p < .005).ConclusionsStudent food choices can be affected by removing trays from dining halls, specifically favoring fewer beverages, and without sacrificing salad consumption. Studies with more precise measures of tray waste are needed to understand the direct effect on energy and nutrient consumption.
Highlights
Students live outside of their family homes for the first time in college and are expected to make their own decisions regarding dietary choices
Student food choices can be affected by removing trays from dining halls, favoring fewer beverages, and without sacrificing salad consumption
Studies with more precise measures of tray waste are needed to understand the direct effect on energy and nutrient consumption
Summary
The students in dining hall with no cafeteria trays self-served more salad These results, based on using different types of dishes as a proxy for types of food selected, suggest an increase in salad consumption and a decrease in lunch entrée and drink consumption in the trayless setting. While a true list is not available, several U.S colleges and universities have “gone trayless” as a cost saving, environmentally friendly measure to reduce food waste and water usage over the past few years It is unknown, if this simple economical change might serve to trim the growing waistline of college students as they enter college commonly termed as the “freshman 15”. In this study we measured the number of lunch servings, drink servings, salad servings and dessert servings separately in addition to observing plate waste by recording the amount leftovers to better understand the impact of trayless dining on food choice behavior. It is important to consider and evaluate the effectiveness of low cost choice architecture change such as going trayless in dining halls that serve large number of patrons
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