RT Journal Article
T1 “It’s Important but, on What Level?”: Healthy Cooking Meanings and Barriers to Healthy Eating among University Students
A1 Vélez Toral, Mercedes
A1 Rodríguez Reinado, Carmen
A1 Ramallo Espinosa, Ana
A1 Andrés Villas, Montserrat
AB The negative impact of a sedentary lifestyle and poor diet on health is evident across thelifespan, but particularly during the university period. Usually, the diet of university students is richin sweetened drinks and processed foods and low in fruits, vegetables and legumes. Although thereis an association between maintaining a healthy diet and the frequency of cooking at home, the timecurrently spent on cooking or learning how to cook is decreasing globally. The main aim of this studywas to explore university students’ perceptions about healthy cooking and barriers to eating healthily.A group of 26 students participated in four focus groups. Content analysis was conducted usingAtlas.ti v.8. Students perceived cooking healthily as a more complicated and time-consuming processthan cooking in general. Individual and environmental factors were the most reported barriers. Costsand time, among others, were the main barriers pointed out by students with regard to healthy eating.This study highlights the need to develop interventions that modify these false perceptions aboutcooking healthily, and to train students so that they are able to cook healthy meals in a quick, easy,and cost-effective way. Further, specific actions are required in the university setting to minimizeaccess to unhealthy options and to promote those linked to healthy eating.
PB MDPI
SN 2072-6643
YR 2020
FD 2020-07
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10272/18791
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10272/18791
LA eng
NO Vélez Toral, M., Rodríguez Reinado, C., Ramallo Espinosa, A., & Andrés Villas, M. (2020). “It’s Important but, on What Level?”: Healthy Cooking Meanings and Barriers to Healthy Eating among University Students. Nutrients, 12(8), 2309. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12082309
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 30 may 2026