Food conscientiousness as a buffer against college students' weight gain

TL;DR

College students with higher food conscientiousness gained less weight during the semester, suggesting this trait helps prevent weight gain.

Contribution

The study introduces food conscientiousness as a novel psychological factor linked to reduced weight gain in undergraduates.

Findings

College students gained an average of 2 lbs during the fall 2020 semester.

Higher food conscientiousness was significantly associated with less weight gain, independent of general conscientiousness.

The effect of food conscientiousness on weight gain was consistent regardless of living environment or perceived access to healthy food.

Abstract

A variety of psychological factors may influence weight gain among undergraduates. As one of the psychological factors that might influence such weight gain, this research introduces food conscientiousness, a behavioral tendency toward making healthier food choices.

In Phase 1 of the study, we developed a food conscientiousness scale. In Phase 2, we examined whether undergraduates demonstrated weight gain and whether it was smaller among those high in food conscientiousness.

The results indicated that college students demonstrated weight gain (2 lbs, on average) during the fall 2020 semester. Furthermore, food conscientiousness was significantly negatively associated with weight gain, independent of general conscientiousness. Importantly, this effect was neither moderated by where students lived nor by their perceived access to healthy food, suggesting that food conscientiousness can prevent weight gain regardless of lifestyle.

College undergraduates high (+1 SD) in food conscientiousness reported smaller weight gain (0.24 lbs) compared to those low (−1 SD) in food conscientiousness (3.93 lbs) during the first 2 months of a fall semester. The results suggest that food conscientiousness may be one of the psychological factors that shapes the extent to young adults gain weight.

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