The “Green Eating” project: a pilot intervention to promote sustainable and healthy eating in college students

Abstract

Green Eating (GE) is defined as eating locally grown foods, limited intake of processed foods, consuming organic or fair trade foods and beverages, consuming meatless meals and, if consuming animal products, choosing ones that do not contain hormones or antibiotics. The aim of this study was to conduct a randomized, controlled pilot study comparing an intervention to motivate college students to practice GE behaviors vs. an intervention to promote sustainable transportation behaviors (ST). Participants (n = 191) took the previously validated GE survey to determine Stage of Change (SOC), Decisional Balance (DB), Self Efficacy (SE) and Behaviors (B). Over a 3‐week period, students were provided with four online educational modules related to GE or ST. Participants completed the GE survey pre and post‐intervention. Mean age was 19 years; mean BMI was 23 kg/m2 and mean B score was 2.51 (out of 5) at baseline. A majority of students (66%) were in precontemplation or contemplation SOC for GE. There was no change in SOC, DB, SE or B either within or between groups. However, students appeared interested in GE; 72% accessed the intervention compared to 53% for ST (χ2=6.7, p<.01); 69% indicated they liked the GE program and 65% would recommend it to a friend. Results suggest student interest in GE but due to the large proportion in early SOC, a longer, more intensive intervention may be necessary to motivate students to adopt GE behaviors.