Perception about the effectiveness of different vending machine interventions to promote healthier snack selection among college students

Abstract

Objective

Evaluate college students’ perception of the effectiveness of different vending machine (VM) interventions for improving snack selection.

Participants

A total of 194 college students with the age of ≥18 years.

Method

A cross-sectional survey among a purposive sampling near VM.

Results

Most students use VM frequently or occasionally (63.4%). The intervention perceived as most helpful for choosing healthier snacks was labeling (on or near) which snack is healthy (score 3.83/5) followed by lowering the price of healthy options (score 3.33/5), while the least helpful was having posters nearby explaining which snacks are healthier (2.35/5). Participants suggested including snacks high in protein (58.8%) and low in sugar (56.2%). Most would like to see more healthy options in VM (83.5%) and will purchase them if available (67%).

Conclusions

Lowering the price for healthy snacks and including labels to indicate which are healthy may be the interventions to test for improving snack intake among college students.

Keywords:

• Beverages
• college students
• nutrition intervention
• snack
• vending machines

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States of America and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Florida International University.

Funding

This study was supported by the Advanced Research and Creativity in Honors (ARCH) Program and the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition at the Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work in Florida International University.