College Students’ Interpretation of Terminology Commonly used in Describing Food./Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Assess college students’ interpretation of terminology commonly used in describing food such as energy dense food, junk food, and ultra-processed food.

The response rate was 95%. Most of the participants were white (71.2%), female (77.1%) and reported taking a nutrition class (73.7%). More than half of the participants were either dietetics or nutrition science majors (35.6% and 17.8%, respectively). Dietetic students scored a perfect seven points on the objective questions. There was a significant difference in the total score between dietetic majors (7) and students with majors (6.29±1.41) other than nutrition science (6.76±1.41). No students in any major defined food terminology terms consistently.

Webster C, Getty V, Thiagarajah K.

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