Changes in Availability and Affordability on the University Food Environment: The Potential Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the eating habits of the general population, among other reasons, because it has affected access to commercial establishments since some of them closed. This study aimed to describe potential changes that occurred between 2019 and 2022 in the availability and affordability of food and beverages in the food environment of a Brazilian public university.

Methods: Cross-sectional and descriptive study conducted at a public university located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

[Trajectory of changes in dietary habits of students from a Brazilian public university].

The scope of this study was to evaluate possible differences in dietary trajectories of students according to their attendance at a University Restaurant (UR) and the basis for their admission to the university. It was an experiment conducted with undergraduate students (n=1,131) from a Brazilian public university. In 2011 and 2013, questionnaires identified and completed in person were applied assessing the regular consumption of foods that were markers of healthy or unhealthy diet, partaking of lunch, dinner and replacement of lunch and/or dinner with a snack.

Development and Application of Healthiness Indicators for Commercial Establishments That Sell Foods for Immediate Consumption.

Studies of food environments lack easy-to-apply indicators for their characterization and monitoring. This study aimed to create and assess the applicability of an a priori classification of establishments that sell foods for immediate consumption and to develop and apply indicators for assessment of the establishments' healthiness. The indicators were grouped by the types of foods sold most frequently at these establishments, according to the extent and purpose of the foods' industrial processing.

Effect of implementation of a University Restaurant on the diet of students in a Brazilian public university.

Dietary practices of college students were compared before and after implementation of the University Restaurant (UR) and examined according to frequency of UR use. A natural experiment was conducted with students (n = 1131) of a Brazilian public university using a validated self-completed and identified questionnaire that inquired information on practices of substituting lunch and/or dinner with a snack (≥ 5 days/week) and on regular consumption of foods that were markers of a healthy or unhealthy diet. At the second time point, UR use by students was also assessed based on their attendance to it.

Dietary practices of quota and non-quota students at a Brazilian public university.

Dietary practices of college students were described and examined according to the means by which they were admitted to the university (quota and non-quota students). A cross-sectional study was conducted with undergraduates (n = 1336) at a public university using a self-administered and identified questionnaire that inquired about their habits of eating breakfast and substituting lunch and/or dinner with snacks as well as the regular consumption (≥ 5 times a week) of markers for healthy and unhealthy eating. Analysis of the association between means of admission to the university and dietary practices was done using univariate and multivariate logistic regression models.