This study was undertaken to compare meal skipping, snacking, and weight perceptions between students on-campus living alone and off-campus living with parents, in an urban college in the United States. The self-report survey was completed by 219 college students (on-campus=100, off-campus=119) between April and May 2012. Two-thirds (67%) of the respondents skipped at least one meal in the past week, and most participants showed strong desires to lose weight despite their normal/under-weight status. Significant differences between the two groups were obtained for the reason to skip a meal and the type of snack consumed. Compared to on-campus students, significantly higher values were obtained for off-campus students for choosing ‘no time to prepare’ as a meal skipping reason for lunch and dinner, and ‘sweets’ as a preferred snack. In addition to the group comparison, multiple regression results indicate that the body mass index (BMI) positively correlates with meal skipping and snacking frequencies. Younger students and female students were determined to have a higher frequency of meal skipping and morning snacking. Future research is required to study the dietary factors associated with living arrangements, to help college students develop healthy eating habits.

This study was conducted to assess the recognition and consumption of meal alone and processed food according to major of college students in Seoul Metropolitan area and Chungcheong province, Republic of Korea. To accomplish this, a survey was conducted to investigate 353 college students (171 food & nutrition majors and 182 non-majors) regarding their general characteristics, dietary behaviors, meal alone issues, and the purchase and consumption of processed food. Most major and non-major students skipped breakfast. The main reason for skipping was not having time. Majors and non-majors put great importance on their lunch and evening meal, respectively. Nutrition information routes for majors were ‘college class’ (62.5%) and ‘TV radio’ (17.5%). However, the routes for non-majors to obtain nutrition information were ‘internet smart phones’ (41.1%) and ‘TV radio’ (28.3%). These results suggest the need to provide correct information concerning nutrition to college students. Most major and non-major students tend to have 0 to 2 times of meal alone per week. The main reason for meal alone was schedule unsuitable for eating with family or friends. The most critical factors for majors and non-majors when they chose menu to have meal alone were personal taste and money, respectively. The primary consideration for choosing processed food was price and the main purchase route was convenience store. The main reason for consuming processed food was easy-to-cook. Of processed foods, the most favored ones were noodles and fish products. Meal alone frequency was positively correlated with age (p<0.05), grade (p<0.05) and monthly allowance (p<0.05). Preference and consumption frequency of processed food were negatively correlated with concern about nutrition (p<0.05) and meal frequency (p<0.05), respectively. Based on these results, greater efforts should be made to provide meaningful information regarding programs for nutrition education to improve their dietary habits. Research and development of processed food specifically for college students eating alone should be increased.