The audience that this infographic will target is college students. Eating a balanced breakfast is important for all individuals, but is especially important for college students. College students must balance many different tasks and activities each day and starting the day with a healthy, balanced breakfast ensures proper energy and concentration. From long days of classes, hours of school work, sports or exercise schedules, and their social lives, college students are constantly on the move. Making sure their bodies are fueled is just as important as any other aspect of these student’s lives. Starting the day with breakfast is a vital step in ensuring that students are fueling their body throughout the day. Consuming the proper nutrients and in adequate amounts will ensure that students are working at their utmost potential.
Because the infographic will be targeting college students, it is appropriate that the needs assessment will also be done on college students. To analyze a college student's needs, their health needs, educational needs, resource needs, and developmental needs will be analyzed. For the health needs of college students, it is important to make sure that they are consuming proper nutrients in each food group. One of the areas where students lack the most consumption is with fruits and vegetables. Only 6% of college students are consuming a proper amount of fruit and vegetables daily and only 46% of students are meeting the general nutrient requirements daily (1). This concludes that fruits and vegetable intake are where college students are most lacking, and would be a good place for an intervention to start. Fruits and vegetables contain thousands of micronutrients. If college students are not eating an adequate amount of each, which in total is 5 cups a day, college students are at risk of being deficient in a variety of micronutrients (1). As for educational needs, it was found that students who are more educated on nutrition are more likely to make better food choices (2). This is important because it proves that there is a positive correlation between nutrition education, like this infographic, and healthy food choices for college students. Looking at college student’s resource needs, it is important to consider students living off campus, as well as students living on campus. Because not every student has the same living situation, some students may have the luxury of cooking their own foods, while others don’t. college students tend to choose foods not due to their nutritional content, but rather what is more affordable or convenient. Most college students do not have a car, which proves to be a barrier for attaining healthier foods at a more affordable price. Therefore, students are more likely to buy what is closer to their residence and what is cheaper, which may not be the most nutritious.This leads to the point that when educating college students, the information given as well as the recipes or recommendations made must be easy, simple, and accessible for all students. This also ties well into the developmental needs of college students. Some college students may be more educated on nutrition, cooking, grocery shopping, or budgeting than other students. This is why information given out must be easily read, understood and feasible for all students regardless of where they sit, developmentally.
The reading level of my infographic was evaluated by the Flesh-Kincaid reading level evaluator. The reading level was calculated as being within the 80 to 90 level. This is considered the 6th grade reading level by Flesh-Kincaid. This means that my infographic will be easily read and understood by all different kinds of college students.
I think that my infographic is most closely related to the Health Belief Model, which analyzes an individual’s perception to make a change. In my infographic, the goal is to teach college students how to create a balanced breakfast with MyPlate. By using MyPlate, which is a basic or introductory level approach to nutrition, it guarantees college students an easy transition to a healthy lifestyle. Not only this, but just starting with breakfast rather than remaking a student’s whole diet will ensure that an individual does not become overwhelmed by the information or idea of changing their whole diet all at once. In the infographic, students will be able to read quick tips and facts on each MyPlate food group, as well as foods that can be implemented during breakfast. Dairy like milk, yogurt and low fat cheese are another important form of protein that should be included in every breakfast.
A concept that I found quite interesting regarding college students and consumption of breakfast was that there was a negative correlation between skipping breakfast and physical activity (3). This means that when a college student skips breakfast, most times, if not always, there is a decrease in physical activity and step count. The difference between eating breakfast and not resulted in a decrease of 80 minutes in physical activity time a day and decrease of over 3,000 steps a day (3). This article makes it even more evident the importance of college students making time to eat breakfast in the morning, as it will undoubtedly benefit the rest of their day.
Another concept that I found interesting was that those who made time to eat breakfast in the morning were much more happy than those who decided to skip out on breakfast. It was found that students who ate breakfast every day, consumed more than 8 servings of fruits and vegetables every day, as well as ate 3 meals and 2 snacks had the highest happiness score (4). Mental health is a very important factor when considering the wellbeing of college students. If eating breakfast and an adequate amount of each food group can significantly increase a student’s mental wellbeing, a healthy diet should be of utmost importance. Starting an intervention at a healthy and balanced breakfast is a great place to start when a college student is looking to improve their overall diet.
I think this infographic could be successful in many different locations on a college campus. To ensure that students on campus are viewing this infographic, I think it should be displayed in dorm hallways and common areas, dining halls, campus food stores, and lecture halls. To ensure that students off campus are seeing this infographic, I think it should be displayed in off-campus housing lobbies, common areas and elevators, and grocery stores. If this infographic gets proper attention and is displayed all around campus, I think it can be very helpful for improving college students’ diets, starting with a healthy breakfast.
Works Cited
1. Opoku-Acheampong AA, Kidd T, Adhikari K, Muturi N, Kattelmann K. Assessing Physical Activity, Fruit, Vegetable and Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake Patterns of College Students in Kansas. Jrnl Nutr Edu Behav. 2018;50(10): 977-983. https://doi-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1016/j.jneb.2018.02.001.
2. Nani M, Gordon K, Caine-Bish N. Impact of a College Nutrition Course on Nutrition Knowledge and Dietary Intake of Undergraduate Students. Jrnl Nutr Edu Behav. 2019;51(7): 552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2019.05.421.
3. Sasabe S, Tsumori T, Makio S, Yamamoto H. Analysis of Energy Intake at Breakfast and Physical Activity in College Students Yields the Ideal Breakfast Size. Jrnl Nutr Edu Behav. 2021;53(7): 548. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2021.04.111.
4. Lesani A, Mohammadpooasl A, Javadi M, Esfeh JM, Fakhari A. Eating breakfast, fruit and vegetable intake and their relation with happiness in college students. Eat Weight Disord. 2016; 21: 645-651.https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-016-0261-0.
Infographic Works Cited
1. CDC. Only 10 Adults Get Enough Fruits and Vegetables. Cent Dis Cntrl Prev. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p1116-fruit-vegetable-consumption.html#:~:text=Eating%20a%20diet%20rich%20in,to%20fruit%20and%20vegetable%20consumption.
2. Petrushevski A. Can your brain function without carbs? Sydney Low Carb Specialists. https://sydneylowcarb.com.au/2019/06/14/does-your-brain-need-carbs/.
3. Hawley A. Protein, It's What’s for Breakfast. Amer Soc Nutr. https://nutrition.org/protein-its-whats-for-breakfast/.
4. Adobe Stock. Accessed March 27, 2022.
Picture Reference:
1. weyo. Ham and Eggs. Bacon and Eggs. Salted egg with pepper on white plate. English Breakfast. Adobe Stock. Accessed March 25, 2022.
Credits:
Created with an image by weyo - "Ham and Eggs. Bacon and Eggs. Salted egg with pepper on white plate. English breakfast"