The Impact of the Nutritional Knowledge of Polish Students Living Outside the Family Home on Consumer Behavior and Food Waste

Analysis of factors influencing college students' food waste behavior and evaluation of labor education intervention

Background

Food waste remains a major problem for the world and food security. Despite the fact that consumers are significant producers of food waste, little research attention has been paid to college students. The present study aimed to assess food waste and the influence factors among college students. Additionally, the goal was to improve college students' food waste attitudes and behaviors through labor education.

Methods

Through an online questionnaire survey, 407 college students from three universities were asked about food waste; 27 students of them were randomly selected as the research object, and labor practice was carried out in groups in the student cafeteria. Mann-Whitney U test was performed to show food waste behavior of college students and logistical regression analysis was used to analyze the factors affecting food waste behavior.

Results

The results indicated that the food waste is more serious among college students in East China, senior or female students, BMI plays a positive role in food waste among college students, while monthly consumption and peers waste play a negative role in food waste. After participating in the labor education, the students' views and practices toward their peer's food waste have improved.

Conclusion

The implementation of labor education in college canteens is conducive to the establishment of a correct outlook on labor as well as saving consciousness among college students, and to the formation of a social consciousness of saving.

Food waste in polish households - Characteristics and sociodemographic determinants on the phenomenon. Nationwide research

In Poland, to our best knowledge, none of the scientific publications produced to date have addressed the scale of wasted food in households and the impact of sociodemographic and economic factors on this. This study fills this research gap. The study was carried out in 2019 on a nationwide random-quota sample of 500 households, which are representative of all households. The survey was carried out in the respondents' homes for seven consecutive days. It consisted of an interview conducted by an interviewer (Computer-Assisted Personal Interviews method) and a paper diary completed by the respondents themselves. The aim of the study was to present the volume of wasted food, taking five groups into account,and to examine the impact of the sociodemographic and economic characteristics of the households and the person responsible for preparing meals on food waste. The results show that one person, on average, wasted 62.6 kg of edible food per year (98.2 kg of edible and inedible parts combined). According to the results, the most discarded food products include fruit and vegetables, bread, dairy products, drinks and juices, and cold cuts. Statistical analysis showed that the level of food waste in Polish households is conditioned by characteristics such as household size (persons), the presence and number of children, monthly income, as well as the characteristics of the person responsible for preparing meals, such as age and employment status.