Honors Theses

Date of Award

Spring 5-13-2023

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Health, Exercise Science, and Recreation Management

First Advisor

Victoria Zigmont

Second Advisor

Thomas Andre

Third Advisor

Ashley White Jones

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

The college years are a critical time in an individual’s life in which dietary habits are developed and will likely carry on for years to come. Mississippi has been ranked highly in health issues such as obesity for years; dietary decisions are one factor that can influence a person’s obesity risk. Therefore, it is imperative that changes be made to dietary decisions at a young age. With the proper adjustments made, preventable issues such as obesity can be avoided. Thus, research investigating how nutritional information affects college students’ purchase intention at the University of Mississippi is warranted. In this study, 489 students completed an online survey in which their nutritional knowledge and purchase intention were measured. Based on students’ estimations of calories, sugar, and fat contents in their selected sugar-sweetened beverage, the majority underestimated calories, underestimated sugar content, and either overestimated or had accurate estimations of fat content. However, there was only a significant relationship between those who underestimated sugar content with a decrease in purchase intention. When asked about their reasoning behind their change in purchase intention, most students reported that being more aware of the nutritional content of their beverage led them to decrease their purchase intention. On the other hand, those who reported taste and/or convenience as the largest determinate in their beverage purchases had an increase in purchase intention. These results indicate that nutritional knowledge alone is not enough to impact students’ purchase intention.

Accessibility Status

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Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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