• Adults 20 years of age or older• 69% overweight or obese

• College Students• 30% overweight or obese

• Children and Adolescents• 17% obese

Ogden et al., 2012; Healthy People Healthy Campus 2010

• Overweight and obesity associated with type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and several types of cancer

Boynton Health Service

Background Information

• Annual medical costs of obesity– $147 billion– 10% of all medical spending

• Compared to those of normal weight:– Obese individuals spend $1,429 more in annual

medical spending

Hammond and Levine, 2010; Finkelstein et al., 2009;

• Studies of college campuses have focused on overweight and obesity among college students

• BUT—Few studies have examined all members on college campuses

• Our study: survey healthy eating behaviors of all campus members • Student, Staff, Faculty, and Administration• to generate strategies to promote a

campus-wide culture of healthy eating

• Look at similarities and differences between faculty/staff and students:• eating behaviors• barriers to healthy eating• strategies to support healthy eating

Purpose of our Study

• Spring 2010 cross-sectional survey• Students faculty and staff from University

Minnesota Morris• Snapshot of current eating behaviors and

perspectives• Survey development• Selected questions from validated surveys• Tested and finalized survey

• Disseminated web based survey through email

Methods

• E-mails• Posters• Table tents• Facebook group page• Tabling at student center• Word of mouth

Survey PR and Marketing Techniques

• Eating behaviors• Food purchasing behaviors• Barriers to healthy eating• Support for policies and interventions to

encourage healthy eating• Background information– Age, sex, race, employment, etc.

Categories of Questions

Respondents• 441 respondents • 67% students• 22% staff• 11% from faculty

• Response rate of 20%

Who is eating healthy foods?

Who is eating healthy foods?

Who is eating unhealthy foods?

Who is eating unhealthy foods?

Who is eating unhealthy foods?

Who is eating unhealthy foods?

What is preventing healthy eating?

What is preventing healthy eating?

What can we do?

Summary of findings• Our study indicated significant differences in

eating behaviors and policy preferences between faculty/staff and students

• A significantly greater proportion of students:• Consume lower quantities of some healthy foods

than faculty/staff• Consume higher quantities of some unhealthy

foods than faculty/staff

Summary of findings

• Barriers to healthy eating:• Students indicated a lack of access to better

tasting, less costly healthy foods• Faculty/staff indicated being too tried to prepare

healthy foods

Summary of findings

• Policies to encourage healthy eating:• A significantly higher number of students

supported policies that would increase access to nutrition information and healthy foods that are better tasting.

• Other strategies may be needed to address faculty concerns about fatigue such as providing time-saving or advanced preparation tips for healthy foods.

Study limitations• Representative but small sample size• Self reported data• No physical activity data collected

Future Endeavors• Complete analyses of data• Prepare manuscript for submission to a peer

reviewed journal• Conduct follow up survey to access whether

healthy eating interventions are successful

A special thanks to• Wisconsin Economics' Association • Watershed Institute for Collaborative

Environmental Studies • Sandy Olson-Loy, Vice Chancellor of Student

Affairs, University of Minnesota Morris• Students, faculty, and staff of the University of

Minnesota Morris• A Special thanks to Dr. Karen Mumford for

supporting me in this research