Only a small percentage of college students are consuming the recommended number of servings for fruits, vegetables, and dairy (Hiza & Gerrior, 2002; Georgiou et al., 1997). In the present survey, 58% and 64% of the participants state they consume vegetables or whole or canned fruit less than once per day, respectively. This agrees with the 51% of participants who rate the “healthiness” of their eating habits as poor or fair. Dinger and Waigandt (1997) surveyed over 2,600 college students and found that 40% had not eaten any fruit in the previous 24 hours and 55% had not eaten green salad or cooked vegetables. According to a study by Debate et al. (2001), in a population of 630 college students, only 18% consume 5 servings per day of fruits and vegetables, 7% consume 6 or more grain products, and 53% consume 2 or more dairy products. An earlier study by Melby et al. (1986) reported that 69% of college students do no eat any fruit once a day and 48% eat vegetables less than once a day. These findings are cause for concern because there is ample data suggesting that fruit and vegetable consumption may be protective against most cancers and cardiovascular disease. The decreased risk of chronic disease associated with a plant-based diet may be due to substances in fruit and vegetables such as antioxidants, folate, fiber, potassium, flavonoids and numerous other phytochemicals (Hyson, 2002; Van Duyn & Pivonka, 2000).

The most common barrier cited to eating well is “lack of time.” Other common reasons are “lack of money” and “taste preferences.” Lopez-Azpiazu et al. (1999) examined perceived barriers of healthy eating among 1009 Spanish adults, over the age of 15 years, and found the common barriers were “irregular work hours,” “willpower,” and “unappealing food.” Lappalainen et al. (1997) reported that “irregular work hours,” “giving up foods I like,” and “willpower” are the most common barriers to trying to eat healthier in a large study with over 14,000 European adults, 15 years of age and older. The present survey noted some differences in barriers between men and women. More women state “lack to time,” while three times as many men state “don’t care.”

The steepest decline in physical activity occurs during adolescence and young adulthood (Allison et al., 1999; Grace, 1997; Leslie et al., 1999). Pinto and Marcus (1995) report that 46% of young adults on college campuses are inactive or active irregularly and only about 35% have a regular schedule of physical activity. This is similar to results of Dinger and Waugandt (1997) who found that 30% of college students did not engage in moderate physical activity the previous week and only 45% report participating in vigorous physical activity. Haberman and Luffey (1998) also state that only 39% of 302 college students exercise enough to meet the Healthy People 2000 goal for activity. In contrast, in this particular population of college students, 84% state they currently exercise. However, it should be noted that exercise (frequency or intensity) was not defined. Despite this high reported rate of activity, 42% state they exercise less since attending college. Leslie et al. (1999) found that about 70% of a population of over 2,700 college students report less activity at college. Men exercise more frequently and at a greater intensity level than women and men select strength-training and competitive sports more than women. Women select aerobics more than men. These gender differences also are reported by Leslie et al. (1999) and Pinto and Marcus (1995).

The main reason participants’ exercised in this survey was for “health.” Among other stated reasons, women exercise because of weight and stress reduction and men exercise for enjoyment and gains in muscle and strength. Similarly, Myers and Roth (1997) found that college women exercise for its psychological and body image benefits and Leslie et al. (1999) found that men are motivated to exercise for muscle.