The impact of socioeconomic parameters on students’ attitudes about health and nutrition

Changes in nutritional habits of individuals, including students, occur not only due to age or change of residence (leaving the family home), but also because of different external factors and global trends in a balanced and varied diet. Foods of high nutritional value, i.e. balanced and varied food, become the basis of health care. The aim of the study is to determine students’ attitudes about nutrition and health, and the influence their socio-demographic characteristics have on their perception of health and nutrition. The survey was conducted on students (N = 384) by a questionnaire. The study found that the majority of students perceive that they have enough knowledge about health and "healthy" nutrition, and this knowledge is primarily acquired through the Internet. The place of residence, or the act of leaving the family home and starting an independent life, reduces the consumption of healthy eating, while a higher economic status, i.e. students’ higher financial budget, increases opportunities to consume food in a proper way. Most of the students living on a University campus believe that they had "healthier" nutrition pre–college and that they ate less unhealthy food at the family home. This fact should be an incentive for institutions, student homes and restaurants to act in such a way (through posters, workshops, seminars, more diverse menus, etc.) as to encourage students to learn more about the connection between food and health.