IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aes/amfeco/v27y2025i69p535.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Eating Behavior of Students in Relation to the Offer Available in the Vicinity of the University Campus

Author

Listed:
  • Teodora Dominteanu

    (Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania)

  • Liviu Marian Matac

    (Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania)

  • Nicholas Victor Julius Alexander

    (Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania)

  • Codru?a Daniela Pavel

    (West University of Timi?oara, Timi?oara, Romania)

  • Adrian Iacobini

    (Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania)

  • Andreea Voinea

    (Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania)

Abstract

Eating behavior of students is a major concern given the prevalence of chronic diseases associated with unhealthy food preferences, such as ultra-processed foods, which are characterized by wide availability, extensive marketing and advertising efforts and affordable prices. At the same time, the proximity of the vendors of such food products to university campuses and the students' financial constraints make this type of consumption exacerbate the pressure on the health care system and generate long-term negative effects on the health of students, future contributors to the labor market. This study differs from previous research by using a multimodal methodological approach, analyzing the relationship between food supply and demand in the vicinity of the university campus. The investigation examines the correlation between students' food preferences with the distribution of food suppliers, providing a detailed insight into how accessibility, pricing, and commercial strategies influence food choices. The results of the study indicated a preferential consumption of ultra-processed foods over healthy foods due to both their lower cost and to the presence of numerous vendors selling such food products in the vicinity of the campus. It was also observed that healthy foods were consumed more frequently outside the hours spent at the university, suggesting that the food environment on campus can be influenced by the university through a specific strategy to raise awareness about the risks associated with the consumption of ultra-processed foods, thus, towards healthier eating. The study contributes significantly to our understanding of the impact of socio-economic and cultural factors on students' food preferences, offering insights into their vulnerability to ultra-processed food supply. In addition, it highlights the existing gaps in food policies and puts forward recommendations with the aim of promoting healthy eating behavior by means of diversifying the offer and optimizing accessibility for the consumption of healthy products. Furthermore, it enhances the body of literature in this particular field.

Suggested Citation

  • Teodora Dominteanu & Liviu Marian Matac & Nicholas Victor Julius Alexander & Codru?a Daniela Pavel & Adrian Iacobini & Andreea Voinea, 2025. "Eating Behavior of Students in Relation to the Offer Available in the Vicinity of the University Campus," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 27(69), pages 535-535, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:aes:amfeco:v:27:y:2025:i:69:p:535
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.amfiteatrueconomic.ro/temp/Article_3422.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nicole Darmon & Adam Drewnowski, 2015. "Contribution of food prices and diet cost to socioeconomic disparities in diet quality and health: a systematic review and analysis," Post-Print hal-01774670, HAL.
    2. Sorina Madalina Boariu & Ana Maria Scutariu & Delia Reurean Pintilei & Monica Tarcea & Raquel P. F. Guiné & Manuela Ferreira, 2024. "Food Literacy Assessment of a Sample of Romanian Higher Education Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-13, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bai, Yan & Costlow, Leah & Ebel, Alissa & Laves, Sarah & Ueda, Yurika & Volin, Natalie & Zamek, Maya & Herforth, Anna & Masters, William A., 2021. "Review: Retail consumer price data reveal gaps and opportunities to monitor food systems for nutrition," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    2. Qiuqin Zheng & Xiaoting Wen & Xintian Xiu & Qiuhua Chen, 2023. "Income Quality and Organic Food Purchase Intention: The Chain Mediating Role of Environmental Value, Perceived Consumer Effectiveness," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    3. Giezel N. Figueroa & Vince L. Megallen & Reina Rose F. Palad & John Mark B. Lazaro, 2025. "Investigating the Relationship between Food Nutrition Literacy and Food Choices of College Students," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(2), pages 3197-3218, February.
    4. Bai, Yan & Alemu, Robel & Block, Steven A. & Headey, Derek & Masters, William A., 2021. "Cost and affordability of nutritious diets at retail prices: Evidence from 177 countries," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    5. Rose, Chelsea M. & Gupta, Shilpi & Buszkiewicz, James & Ko, Linda K. & Mou, Jin & Cook, Andrea & Moudon, Anne Vernez & Aggarwal, Anju & Drewnowski, Adam, 2020. "Small increments in diet cost can improve compliance with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    6. Soumya Gupta & Payal Seth & Mathew Abraham & Prabhu Pingali, 2022. "COVID-19 and women's nutrition security: panel data evidence from rural India," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 39(1), pages 157-184, April.
    7. Dangchen Sui & Jiaxin He & Ke Liu & Xinyan Lv, 2024. "Investigating the Impact of the Theory of Planned Behavior and Food Literacy on Green Food Purchasing Intentions Among Chinese Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-26, November.
    8. Danielle L. Nunnery & Jigna M. Dharod, 2017. "Potential determinants of food security among refugees in the U.S.: an examination of pre- and post- resettlement factors," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(1), pages 163-179, February.
    9. Goedemé, Tim & Penne, Tess, 2019. "Putting inadequate incomes at the heart of food insecurity. A Study of the financial constraints to access a healthy diet in Europe," INET Oxford Working Papers 2019-15, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    10. Headey, Derek & Hirvonen, Kalle & Alderman, Harold, 2024. "Estimating the cost and affordability of healthy diets: How much do methods matter?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    11. Lebihan, Laetitia & Mao Takongmo, Charles-Olivier, 2019. "Unconditional cash transfers and parental obesity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 116-126.
    12. ODEH, Joseph PhD, 2024. "Exploring AI Applications to Foster Healthy Shopping Habits in Nigerian Retail," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(3s), pages 5382-5393, November.
    13. Lily Grigsby-Duffy & Sally Schultz & Liliana Orellana & Ella Robinson & Adrian J. Cameron & Josephine Marshall & Kathryn Backholer & Gary Sacks, 2020. "The Healthiness of Food and Beverages on Price Promotion at Promotional Displays: A Cross-Sectional Audit of Australian Supermarkets," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-17, December.
    14. Eliseu Verly Jr & Nicole Darmon & Rosely Sichieri & Flavia Mori Sarti, 2020. "Reaching culturally acceptable and adequate diets at the lowest cost increment according to income level in Brazilian households," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(3), pages 1-15, March.
    15. Anthony Fardet & Marion Desquilbet & Edmond Rock, 2022. "The compliance of French purchasing behaviors with a healthy and sustainable diet: a 1-yr follow-up of regular customers in hypermarkets," Post-Print hal-03353849, HAL.
    16. Katare, Bhagyashree & Binkley, James K. & Chen, Kaiyan, 2021. "Nutrition and diet quality of food at home by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) status," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    17. Leyre Gravina & Amets Jauregi & Irrintzi Fernández-Aedo & Julia Díez & Joel Gittelsohn & Uriyoan Colón-Ramos & Manuel Franco, 2021. "Residents’ Insights on Their Local Food Environment and Dietary Behaviors: A Cross-City Comparison Using Photovoice in Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-15, September.
    18. Kenny, Tiff-Annie & Fillion, Myriam & MacLean, Jullian & Wesche, Sonia D. & Chan, Hing Man, 2018. "Calories are cheap, nutrients are expensive – The challenge of healthy living in Arctic communities," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 39-54.
    19. Bolster, Carl H. & et al. (+11), 2023. "Agriculture, Food Systems, and Rural Communities," USDA Miscellaneous 352114, United States Department of Agriculture.
    20. Nazia Binte Ali & Tazeen Tahsina & Dewan Md Emdadul Hoque & Mohammad Mehedi Hasan & Afrin Iqbal & Tanvir M Huda & Shams El Arifeen, 2019. "Association of food security and other socio-economic factors with dietary diversity and nutritional statuses of children aged 6-59 months in rural Bangladesh," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(8), pages 1-18, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Eating behavior; university campus; students; food supply; ultra-processed foods; Bucharest University of Economic Studies.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I0 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - General
    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aes:amfeco:v:27:y:2025:i:69:p:535. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Valentin Dumitru (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aseeero.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.