The Association Between Eating Competence and Daily Hassles and Uplifts of Eating Location in Undergraduate University Students

Abstract

Objectives: The study sought to investigate the association between the daily hassles and uplifts related to eating location and eating competence (EC), and whether socio-demographics impact this association. Methods: Using a cross-sectional study design and a convenience sample of undergraduate university students, the Lifecourse Eating and Feeding Registry was offered to 644 students during May and June of 2023. Daily hassles and uplifts were measured using the Daily Hassles and Uplifts Scale (DHUS), while EC was measured with ecSI 2.0TM. University students completed a survey which collected socio-demographic data and responses to the DHUS and ecSI 2.0TM. Multivariate regression was used to analyze whether DHUS items were associated with EC in three models: a base model, followed by a primary model with age and gender included as additional independent variables, and finally an exploratory model with birth country and food security status included. A second set of multivariate models used the EC subdomain, Contextual Skills (CS), as the dependent variable using the same independent variables as the original three models. Results: 482 students completed the sections of the survey included in the study. Three of the six DHUS items of interest were statistically significant: the hassle of eating at home, the hassle of eating out, and the uplift of eating out. The hassles of eating at home and of eating out were inversely associated with EC, while the uplift of eating out was positively associated with EC. Neither age nor gender was statistically significant in the primary model, and only birth country was statistically significant in the exploratory model: birth country of the United States was inversely associated with EC. In the CS models, three DHUS items were statistically significant in their association with CS: the uplifts of eating at home and of eating out and the hassle of eating at home. Again, only birth country was statistically significant in the subsequent models, with birth country of the US inversely associated with CS. Conclusion: Viewing an eating location as an uplift is positively associated with EC and CS, while viewing an eating location as a hassle is inversely associated with EC and CS. Future qualitative research could illuminate the reasons these associations exist, while in current practice, Registered Dietitian Nutritionists can use nutrition counseling and ecSI 2.0TM results to work with clients to improve the relationship with food and eating.