Abstract

This study investigated the health and eating habits of college students who commute long distances to and from their schools. Among ninety-eight commuters, 61.2% were females while 38.8% were males. The mean round-trip commuting time was 4.60 hours and the mean number of days of commuting was 3.68. The proportion of underweight females (26.7%) was significantly greater than that of underweight males (5.3%). Conversely, the proportion of overweight males was 34.2% while only 1.6% of the females were overweight, and the difference was statistically significant. The mean number of health-related problems was 1.47 for males and 1.90 for females. Commuting affected the eating habits (90.8%) and health status more noticeably among females. Physical discomfort such as fatigue, stomach discomfort, constipation, weight change, and insomnia appeared after commuting. Irregular meal times, skipping breakfast, frequent overeating and insufficient time to eat were the most prevalent problems indicated. The scores for dietary attitude and eating habits were 20.1/30 and 27.6145, for males and females respectively. Although self-perceived nutrition knowledge was significantly related to dietary attitude and satisfaction with meals, a correlation was not found between self-perceived nutrition knowledge or dietary attitude and the eating habits score. The more concerned the parents were about student's eating habits, the higher the score relating to eating habits. The parents' concerns about students' meals and the food expenses were significantly correlated, but no correlation was found between the food expenses and the eating habits score. Consistent parental concern and encouraging students to maintain good eating habits are recommended. University administrators should also be aware of the needs of commuters and provide a proper and adequate food-related environment for the students.

Keywords

• long-distance commuters;
• college student;
• food habits;
• health