Abstract
The obesogenic food environment is likely driving excessive weight gain in young adults. Our study aimed to investigate the nutritional quality of current food and drink offerings in an Australian university. This cross-sectional study included baseline environmental audits of 30 food outlets and 62 vending machines across campus. A recent food and drink benchmark for health facilities by state government was used to classify the food and beverage offerings. It recommended food outlets and vending machines to offer at least 75% ‘Everyday’ (healthy) and less than 25% ‘Occasional’ (less healthy) foods and drinks. Sugary drinks and options with large portion sizes and unhealthy ingredients should be removed from sale. Only two beverage vending machines and none of the food outlets met the full recommendations. The overall proportions of Everyday and Occasional foods in food outlets were 35% and 22%, respectively with 43% falling into the category that should not be sold. Sugary drinks occupied a third of beverage varieties in outlets and 38% of beverage slots in vending machines. The current university food environment was poorly compliant with the existing benchmark. Specific food policy in the university setting may be needed to make healthier choices more accessible to young adults.
Highlights
National population-based studies in Australia have found that young adults experienced a greater increase in weight and waist circumference [1] and a greater annual increase in body mass index than other adult generations over the same follow-up period [2]. This trend is likely driven in part by continued exposure to the contemporary obesogenic food environment throughout their entire life, and evidence shows young adults have the poorest quality diets [3]
A previous study at an Australian university found that the top priority for students was to provide healthier foods and to make them available at lower prices [6]
This study aims to (i) conduct a baseline audit of vending machines and food outlets in the university to check the compliance of available foods and drinks with the Food and Drink Benchmark, and to (ii) provide recommendations for improvements to close the gap between the current university food environment and the one that would enable healthier food consumption
Summary
National population-based studies in Australia have found that young adults experienced a greater increase in weight and waist circumference [1] and a greater annual increase in body mass index than other adult generations over the same follow-up period [2]. This trend is likely driven in part by continued exposure to the contemporary obesogenic food environment throughout their entire life, and evidence shows young adults have the poorest quality diets [3]. A systematic review of food environment interventions in tertiary institutions indicated that some approaches may have
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