Shaping food choices: the influence of nutritional literacy, motivation and eco-concern on young adults' decisions in university canteens
Valeria Musso, Maria Teresa Trentinaglia, Beatrice Biasini, Damiano Callegaro, Lucia Tecuta, Edoardo Del Conte, Elena Tomba, Francesca Scazzina, Matteo VittuariPurpose
This study investigates the determinants of university students' perceived value of canteen services in Emilia-Romagna, a highly dense university area located in Northern Italy, to explore how this is shaped by individual and contextual factors.
Design/methodology/approach
A PLS-SEM is estimated on a convenience sample of 610 university students enrolled at the Universities of Bologna and Parma. The model combines behavioural dimensions drawn from the MOA framework with the Eating-related Eco-concern questionnaire and the Sustainable Healthy Diet Index to account for relevant psychological and nutritional aspects affecting students' perceived value.
Findings
Results indicate that contextual opportunities – such as accessibility and socialization – are the primary drivers of students' perceived values of university canteens, while individual pro-environmental motivation and dietary orientation play a limited role, suggesting a potential gap between pro-environmental intentions and actual perception of the institutional food environment.
Research limitations/implications
The findings offer practical implications for institutional stakeholders and food service providers, highlighting the importance of matching communication and individual behaviour-oriented interventions with structural and contextual ones, to improve students' satisfaction and engagement with university canteens and to foster healthier and more sustainable eating practices among young adults.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the limited literature on university canteens as institutional food environments, particularly in the Italian context, where evidence on students' actual usage patterns remains scarce.