College students’ attitudes about ways family, friends, significant others and media affect their eating and exercise behaviors and weight perceptions

Abstract

Objective: This study examined college students’ perceptions of how parents, family, friends, significant others, and the media influenced eating and exercise behaviors and weight perceptions. Participants: Forty-one college students, mostly female, participated in interviews. Methods: A Grounded Theory approach, using open coding and memoing, was used to uncover key themes. Results: Healthy cooking and exercise role models at home were viewed as positive, encouraging healthy eating and exercise. Criticism was perceived as negative for healthy habits and weight perceptions. Friends and significant others who practiced positive health habits and were body accepting were uplifting. Cultural transmission of the thin ideal could occur through the media. Some noted that media messages were becoming more positive. Conclusions: Using peers, especially friends, as collaborators in interventions, and discussing parental influences on eating, exercise, and weight perceptions may positively impact obesity prevention programs and interventions for college students.

Keywords:

• Eating behaviors
• exercise behaviors
• weight perceptions
• college students

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our participants for helping us with this project.

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 and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of the University of Cincinnati.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Funding

No external funding source was used to support this research and/or the preparation of this manuscript.