Abstract
Objectives
This study aims to show that if provided healthy food options in the on-campus canteen, medical students will develop healthier eating habits.
Methods
A mixed methods approach was utilized to conduct primary market research which look at the purchasing behavior of medical students, and faculty. The inventory offered in the school canteen, was tracked from 2016 through the first fifteen weeks of 2019. The data from the vendor listed the food items into 9 categories: bottled beverages, candy, general merchandise, ice cream, juice, large snacks, milk, non-carb beverage, and pastry. Of these categories, the top 10 sales for each year were obtained. This study included customer survey data, suggestion box data and product inventory data from the vendor. The customer input was summarized and shared with the vendor in the spring of 2018. The vendor accommodated the medical school customers in all the food and beverage options available for purchase beginning in the next stocking cycle. These changes were implemented over the following three months, despite early food service institutional barriers.
Results
Utilizing the vendor's product inventory excel spread sheets records of sales, product loss, and cost over a three-year period basic statistical analysis indicated that despite an initial drop in sales healthier foods began to trend in the highest sales categories. The foods and beverages that were suggested by students were shown to have been bought more abundantly and frequently after the changes to the canteen were made. Of the nine categories that were analyzed, the beverages showed the most dramatic changes from unhealthy to healthy choices; the sales of healthy beverages increased by 17% over the study period. Interestingly, there was an overall increase in the canteen's total profit in the last year of this study compared to the two previous years.
Conclusions
Students as active participants, when provided healthier food and beverage options demonstrated purchasing behavior indicating a desire to consume the healthier foods. This will be invaluable in the practice of medicine, as it is more efficacious to educate and motivate patients who need instruction regarding their nutritional needs if the providers are already living by that example.
Funding Sources
None
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