Research
Adherence
Adherence to a 'convenience, red meat & alcohol' dietary pattern is associated with higher weekly food spending, regular/social smoking, low physical activity, and frequent consumption of take-aways.
If you rely on take-aways and ready meals, you are likely spending more money weekly than students who cook. This pattern is also linked to lower physical activity and smoking. Improving cooking skills and preparing meals from raw ingredients is associated with better dietary patterns and potentially lower costs.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
The 'convenience, red meat & alcohol' pattern was associated with higher weekly food spending; this pattern was also identified most consistently across universities... associated with higher weekly food spending... regular/social smoking status... most frequent consumption pre-prepared foods... frequent consumption of ready-meals/take-aways.
Why this rating
Cross-sectional survey data; strong associations found but no causal inference.
Source
Dietary patterns of university students in the UK: a cross-sectional study
E. F. Sprake et al. · Nutrition Journal · 2018
DOI 10.1186/s12937-018-0398-y
cross_sectional · n=1448Cited 209×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Adherence to a 'health-conscious' dietary pattern, characterized by high intake of fatty fish, nuts, fresh fruit, and vegetables, is associated with the most favorable micronutrient profile (including selenium, vitamin D, B12, and biotin) among university students.Moderate
- Higher self-reported cooking ability is independently associated with adherence to 'vegetarian' and 'health-conscious' dietary patterns, which have more favorable nutrient profiles than the 'snacking' or 'convenience' patterns.Moderate
Related findings · Adherence
- Regular physical activity (at least 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity) reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality by 20-30% and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes by 25-35%.Strong
- Increasing physical activity from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one in middle adulthood significantly reduces the risk of coronary events compared to remaining sedentary.Strong
- Resistance exercise is the only intervention capable of consistently restoring muscle function and strength in sarcopenia, partially overcoming age-related anabolic resistance.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →