Adult women identities on the menu: deconstructing fast-food consumption among university students

Background Fast food is a highly prevalent choice of diet for Female university students because of its convenience and Affordability. Whichever the reason, good nutrition is vital for the best health and well-being. The issue is that, although the adequate intake of nutrients is crucial to health, relying too much on fast foods can lead to poor health consequences. The eating behavior of university women is usually influenced by social influences, time constraints, and financial limitations. This study investigated factors correlating with fast-food consumption and their relation to identity formation among 385 female university students in Egypt. Methods A mixed-methods approach was used involving both survey and focus group techniques. These methods involved A survey that included participants’ sociodemographic, eating habits, fast food knowledge, and attitudes about consumption; control perception related behaviors; subjective norms; and intentions. Results showed moderate awareness regarding risk factors associated with fast food (mean = 5.37 ± 1.74), though 67.8% considered fast food to be tasty. That awareness of health risks does not necessarily diminish its appeal. Attitudes toward fast food are moderately favorable (mean = 92.63 ± 15.06), though 57% believe fast food causes obesity. There was a significant relationship between perceived behavioral control (mean = 58.39 ± 9.47), which was influenced by craving and lack of time ( p < 0.01). The subjective norms indicated that 74.3% considered family members’ approval important ( p < 0.05). The result showed that intentions to reduce fast food behavior are moderately favorable (mean = 30.22 ± 3.52). The result showed that obese subjects scored high values for all constructs compared to nonobese subjects ( p < 0.01). Family income was found to positively correlate with values for all constructs ( p < 0.05), though there was no significant association between parental education ( p > 0.05). High values positively associated with attitude ( r = 0.826), attitude ( r = 0.331), perceived behavioral control ( r = 0.202), and subjective norms ( r = 0.253), which indicated association between attitude and intention ( p < 0.001), attitude and intention ( p < 0.01), perceived behavioral control ( p < 0.05), subjective norms ( p < 0.01), respectively. Conclusion From these results, it appears that interventions based on attitude, perceived behavioral control, or social influences—focusing on self-efficacy-enhancing or socially influenced eating behavior—may prove to be more effective in encouraging healthier eating behaviors in female university-age students. Trial registration Our study was registered retrospectively with Clinicaltrials.gov under the identifier NCT06783959 on 29 January 2025.