Awareness, Understanding, and Usage of My Pyramid in College Students
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Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK
2010
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| Online Access: | http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1268585771 |
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-bgsu12685857712021-08-03T05:29:13Z Awareness, Understanding, and Usage of My Pyramid in College Students Beebe, Mara Lee Nutrition MyPyramid college students <p>BACKGROUND. Since the release of the MyPyramid food guidance system in 2005, there has not been any research conducted to assess the knowledge and usage of this important educational tool among college students. The objectives of this study were to assess (1) college students’ awareness of the MyPyramid, (2) college students’ perceived understanding of the new components of the MyPyramid and new method of measuring serving sizes, (3) college students’ usage of the MyPyramid.gov website, (4) college students’ usage of MyPyramid as a dietary guide, and (5) the relationship of demographic factors with awareness, understanding, usage, and practice of MyPyramid.</p> <p>METHODS. A self-reported quantitative and qualitative online questionnaire was used to collect the data from college students. A recruitment email was used to invite students to participate in the study. Students accessed the questionnaire through a website.</p> <p>RESULTS. A total of 2,687 students participated in the study. Fifty-six percent of students surveyed, and only 29% of students who were aware of MyPyramid had visited the website. Students reported high levels of perceived understanding for both the MyPyramid messages and the changes in serving size measurement. Students reported low levels of utilization of the MyPyramid; only 21% used the MyPyramid as a guide and only 39% tried to reflect MyPyramid in their food choices frequently or almost always. Forty-five percent reported making some or substantial change in their diet after learning of MyPyramid. Females were found to be more likely to be aware of MyPyramid (p <.05), use the MyPyramid website (p <.01), made changes in their diet (p <.05), and use MyPyramid as a nutrition plan (p <.05). Furthermore, completion of a nutrition class in college resulted in similar positive impacts on awareness (p <.01), usage (p <.01), and application of MyPyramid (p <.01) regardless of gender.</p> <p>CONCLUSION. Students reported moderate levels of awareness for MyPyramid and high levels of perceived understanding of MyPyramid. However, awareness did not translate to usage or practice of MyPyramid, as 21% of the students stated to use MyPyramid as a guide for dietary intake and 45% of the students stated to have made changes in their diets after learning about MyPyramid. Students who had taken an introductory nutrition class in college had higher levels of awareness, understanding, usage of the website, and reflection of MyPyramid in dietary choices. These findings support the idea that efforts should be made to promote MyPyramid in all facets of the education system. Continued research is needed to find ways to increase student awareness of MyPyramid and to use it to make better food choices.</p> 2010-04-23 English text Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1268585771 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1268585771 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws. |
| collection |
NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| topic |
Nutrition MyPyramid college students |
| spellingShingle |
Nutrition MyPyramid college students Beebe, Mara Lee Awareness, Understanding, and Usage of My Pyramid in College Students |
| author |
Beebe, Mara Lee |
| author_facet |
Beebe, Mara Lee |
| author_sort |
Beebe, Mara Lee |
| title |
Awareness, Understanding, and Usage of My Pyramid in College Students |
| title_short |
Awareness, Understanding, and Usage of My Pyramid in College Students |
| title_full |
Awareness, Understanding, and Usage of My Pyramid in College Students |
| title_fullStr |
Awareness, Understanding, and Usage of My Pyramid in College Students |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Awareness, Understanding, and Usage of My Pyramid in College Students |
| title_sort |
awareness, understanding, and usage of my pyramid in college students |
| publisher |
Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
2010 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1268585771 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT beebemaralee awarenessunderstandingandusageofmypyramidincollegestudents |
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