Adults 20 years of age or older 69% overweight or obese College Students 30% overweight or obese Children and Adolescents 17% obese Ogden et al., 2012; Healthy People Healthy Campus 2010

Overweight and obesity associated with type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and several types of cancer Boynton Health Service Background Information

Annual medical costs of obesity – $147 billion – 10% of all medical spending Compared to those of normal weight: – Obese individuals spend $1,429 more in annual medical spending Hammond and Levine, 2010; Finkelstein et al., 2009;

Studies of college campuses have focused on overweight and obesity among college students BUT—Few studies have examined all members on college campuses Our study: survey healthy eating behaviors of all campus members Student, Staff, Faculty, and Administration to generate strategies to promote a campus-wide culture of healthy eating

Look at similarities and differences between faculty/staff and students: eating behaviors barriers to healthy eating strategies to support healthy eating Purpose of our Study

Spring 2010 cross-sectional survey Students faculty and staff from University Minnesota Morris Snapshot of current eating behaviors and perspectives Survey development Selected questions from validated surveys Tested and finalized survey Disseminated web based survey through Methods

s Posters Table tents Facebook group page Tabling at student center Word of mouth Survey PR and Marketing Techniques

Eating behaviors Food purchasing behaviors Barriers to healthy eating Support for policies and interventions to encourage healthy eating Background information – Age, sex, race, employment, etc. Categories of Questions

Respondents 441 respondents 67% students 22% staff 11% from faculty Response rate of 20%

Who is eating healthy foods?

Who is eating unhealthy foods?

What is preventing healthy eating?

What can we do?

Summary of findings Our study indicated significant differences in eating behaviors and policy preferences between faculty/staff and students A significantly greater proportion of students: Consume lower quantities of some healthy foods than faculty/staff Consume higher quantities of some unhealthy foods than faculty/staff

Summary of findings Barriers to healthy eating: Students indicated a lack of access to better tasting, less costly healthy foods Faculty/staff indicated being too tried to prepare healthy foods

Summary of findings Policies to encourage healthy eating: A significantly higher number of students supported policies that would increase access to nutrition information and healthy foods that are better tasting. Other strategies may be needed to address faculty concerns about fatigue such as providing time- saving or advanced preparation tips for healthy foods.

Study limitations Representative but small sample size Self reported data No physical activity data collected

Future Endeavors Complete analyses of data Prepare manuscript for submission to a peer reviewed journal Conduct follow up survey to access whether healthy eating interventions are successful

A special thanks to Wisconsin Economics' Association Watershed Institute for Collaborative Environmental Studies Sandy Olson-Loy, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, University of Minnesota Morris Students, faculty, and staff of the University of Minnesota Morris A Special thanks to Dr. Karen Mumford for supporting me in this research