Ready-to-Eat Breakfast Cereal Consumption Habits of University Students in Manisa Province of Turkey

Abstract

Relationship between ready-to-eat breakfast cereal (RTEC) consumption and nutrient intake of children is extensively studied in the literature. However, little is known about the consumption habits of university students. The objective of this study was to investigate RTEC consumption and buying habits of university students in Manisa, Turkey. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 421 students chosen randomly from Celal Bayar University Muradiye Campus during the spring semester of 2014. Participants were asked to fill out a self- reported questionnaire including 28 questions on their breakfast cereals consumption and buying trends. Gender, age, education programme and place of residence were the independent variables in the study and results were analysed statistically by Pearson chi-squre test using PASW Statistics Ver.18. The main findings in the study were as follows: 43.46% of the participants consumed RTEC and the main reason to consume RTEC was to find it practical. Female participants consumed RTEC more than male participants and participants aged between 19-22 consumed RTEC more than other age groups. 61.75% of the participants consumed RTEC at breakfast, while 25.68% consumed at snack time, 4.92% at lunch and 1.09% at dinner. 66.12% of the consumers consumed RTEC with milk and 24.59% with yogurt. 75.95% of the participants did not consume RTEC with sugar. 78.14% of the consumers found RTEC nutritious and 52.45% consumed with weight reducing diet. 79.16% of the participants consuming RTEC with diet was female. This study showed that university students and especially girls were potential RTEC consumers. Studies on consumption habits of RTEC should be enhanced due to the missing literature in this field.