We are what we eat : the knowledge and effective components of attitudes towards canteen food

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this exploratory study is to qualify the knowledge and affective components that drive University students to make certain food choices, specifically while they are on campus. Rather than determining the strength of these two components, the author chose to understand the relationship between the knowledge and affective components and elicit whether one component dominated the other. Methodology: This study employed primary and secondary data sources. Primary data included carrying out observation, focus groups and a questionnaire. The questionnaire was carried out on both; part-time and full-time University students. Secondary data was based on academic journals, articles, books and the University of Malta's 'Students Statistics by Faculty/Course & Route'. Findings: Following analysis of data and collected evidence, this study presents the main results in Chapter 4 (Analysis and Results). The main findings indicate that although students possess a degree of knowledge on healthy eating and claimed to be health conscious, their affective component still dominated their decision when it came to consuming food at University. Practical Implications Being an exploratory study, the author concludes by putting forward a proposed model with two potential factors; namely appearance and situational factors, which may have a significant impact on the relationship between cognition and affect. The proposed model requires further research on a larger sample. Apart from this, various recommendations for future studies have also been presented.