Relationship Between Cardiovascular Disease Risk and Fast Food Consumption in Undergraduate Honors College Students

Abstract

College students are often pushed towards fast foods as a means of getting a pleasurable, quick bite to eat. Fast foods are high in fat, salt, and sugar content and can lead to cardiovascular disease(CVD) risk. Honors students may be more conscious of negative effects of bad dietary choices. Objectives include assessing Honors students knowledge of American Dietary Association nutritional recommendations and analyzing association between fast food consumption and CVD risk factors: physical inactivity, stress level, BMI, and family history of CVD and CVD risks. An 18-question survey was administered between April and June 2013 to East Carolina University Honors College students via the Honors College list serve. The survey measured frequency of fast food, sweetened beverage and snack consumption; height, weight, exercise frequency, stress levels, course load, and family history of CVD, and nutritional knowledge. Students were categorized as frequent fast food consumers (FFF) 3 or more times a week or infrequent fast food consumers (IFF) less than 3 times a week. 92 responses representing 36.2% of the 2012-2013 Honors College were collected. Twenty-three percent of participants were male, 79.3% White, 13% Asian, 5.4% Black descent, and 2% Other. Thirty-seven percent were able to correctly identify their nutritional recommendations. IFF were able to answer 2 out of 3 nutritional questions correctly versus only 30% of FFF. A fifth(21.7%) of participants had 3 or more CVD risks. Thirty percent of FFF had 3 or more cardiovascular disease risk factors versus 18.8% of IFF. Frequent fast food consumers had more risk factors compared to IFF. Students who answered nutritional questions correctly also consumed less fast food, demonstrating that they applied their knowledge to their own eating habits.