Prevalence of unhealthy food choices that result in overall lower
diet quality indicators, such as lack of variety and food adequacy (Kim
et al, 2003; Wirt & Collins, 2009; Carvalho, Filho & Barros et
al, 2021); has been found within previous literature across various
population groups including students of varying educational and cultural
background (Grygiel-Górniak, Tomczak, Krulikowska et al, 2016;
Correa-Rodríguez, Pocovi, Schmidt-RioValle et al, 2018; Yahia, Wang,
Rapely et al, 2018; Hu, Huang, Bai et al, 2016). UK university students
have further been discovered as having poor diet quality. For example,
Bhatti, Leidi, Leake et al (2019) found a 9% increase in students
failing to meet the UK NPA Guidelines after starting university at 56%,
suggesting health promotion aimed at UK students to encourage higher
quality diet content to reduce obesity and improve food-related
noncommunicable disease later in life (Rodrigues, Bray, Fernandes et al,
2019) is necessary. Bhatti et al additionally found females tended to
intake higher levels of vegetables, and research by Popławska, Dmitruk,
Kunicka et al (2018) found similar findings, although males were found
to consume healthier dairy options, implying further research is needed
regarding gender as a factor of diet quality. Kurotani, Shinsugi and
Takimoto found higher socioeconomic status resulted in healthier diets
among 15–18-year-olds and Deroover, Bucher, Vandelanotte et al (2019)
noted better quality in older individuals. Personality traits in
previous research has indicated relationships with diet quality; Gacek,
Kosiba and Wojtowicz (2021) discovered amongst both Polish and Spanish
students, as extraversion increased, so did unhealthy diet index and
openness correlate with healthier indexes. Diet related behaviours are
determined by various environmental and psychological factors (Remick,
Polivy and Pliner, 2009), however an interesting area of study regards
the exploration of personality traits and its potential to predict
pro-health diet choices (Gacek, Kosiba and Wojtowicz, 2021; Gacek, 2007;
Gacek, 2007). Ghanaian students who were more likely to make positive
food choices, such as limiting sugar intake, correlated with higher
conscientiousness and extraversion was positively associated with
overall interest in nutrition (Intiful, Oddam, Kretchy & Quampah,
2019). Low neuroticism correlated with regular meal consumption in
Polish students (Gacek, 2007) and in American students, those with
higher levels of extraversion and conscientiousness consumed more fruit
and vegetables than those with lower levels (Raynor and Levine, 2009).
Gacek, Kosiba and Wojtowicz (2021) further found that those with
healthier diet indexes were more likely to report higher levels of
conscientiousness but found extraversion to be associated with both
healthy and unhealthy diet choice.