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Similarity in meal plan use among first-year roommates
Irene van Woerden1, David R Schaefer2, Daniel Hruschka3
1College of Nursing, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID, USA.
Appetite
|October 9, 2019
Summary
First-year students’ meal plan choices significantly influence their roommates’ decisions. Roommate pairings impact meal plan usage, especially early in the academic year, suggesting potential dietary implications.
Area of Science:
- Student Health and Wellness
- Behavioral Science
- Higher Education Research
Background:
- College students often make independent decisions regarding meal plans.
- Roommate dynamics can influence various aspects of student life, including social behavior and resource utilization.
- Understanding factors influencing student meal plan choices is crucial for campus dining services and student well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether first-year college students' meal plan decisions are influenced by their roommates.
- To analyze the relationship between roommates' meal plan choices and their actual meal usage patterns.
- To determine if shared living space or roommate influence is the primary driver of similar meal plan decisions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized residence and meal usage data from 1186 first-year students (593 roommate pairs) during the 2015-2016 academic year.
- Employed linear generalized estimating equations (GEEs) to assess the impact of a roommate's meal plan usage on a student's own usage.
- Conducted a logistic GEE to examine joint meal plan usage and a simulation to differentiate roommate effects from shared residence effects.
Main Results:
- A student's meal usage, particularly in the spring semester, was positively associated with their roommate's meal usage, even after controlling for fall semester usage.
- Students living on the same meal plan were more likely to use meals together, with this joint usage decreasing after the first month.
- Simulation results confirmed that roommate influence, not shared residence, explained the observed similarities in meal plan decisions.
Conclusions:
- First-year students' meal plan choices are significantly associated with their roommates' choices.
- Joint meal plan usage between roommates is most pronounced at the beginning of the academic year.
- Strategic roommate assignments could potentially optimize student meal plan utilization and warrant further investigation into their impact on student diets.
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