Association Between Food Choice Motives and Food Consumption in Young Adults: Gender, Obesity and Stress-Related Differences Among University Students

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Sensory appeal is the most important food choice motive among young adults, and motives such as health, natural content, and weight control are positively correlated with healthy food consumption and negatively with unhealthy food consumption, with gender and mental health status influencing these motives more than BMI. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

Fatma Ilgaz; Mehmet Fisunoğlu

doi:10.21020/husbfd.1886770

August 28, 2026Hacettepe Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi DergisiOpen Access

Association Between Food Choice Motives and Food Consumption in Young Adults: Gender, Obesity and Stress-Related Differences Among University Students

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Key Points

To determine the association between food choice motives and the consumption of healthy versus unhealthy foods among young adults, examining variations across gender, obesity, and stress-related subgroups.
Conducted a cross-sectional study of 1,000 undergraduate students during the 2017–2018 academic year.
Administered face-to-face assessments using the Food Choice Questionnaire, the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-42, and a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire.
Categorized food intake into healthy (dairy, whole grains, fruits, vegetables) and unhealthy (fast food, sugar-sweetened foods, junk food) dietary patterns.
Sensory appeal was ranked as the most critical food choice motive across all subgroups, followed consistently by price or convenience.
Motive rankings varied significantly based on gender and depression-anxiety-stress status, which exerted a greater influence than body mass index.
Healthy food intake correlated positively with health, natural content, and weight control motives, whereas unhealthy food consumption showed negative associations with these factors.

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Implication

Cross-sectional study reveals that sensory appeal and psychological stress drive dietary decisions in university students, highlighting key behavioral targets for nutrition interventions.

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Ilgaz et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a93f0f56c1a8fb52e79d814 https://doi.org/10.21020/husbfd.1886770

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Association Between Food Choice Motives and Food Consumption in Young Adults: Gender, Obesity and Stress-Related Differences Among University Students

Key Points

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Discussion

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Association Between Food Choice Motives and Food Consumption in Young Adults: Gender, Obesity and Stress-Related Differences Among University Students

Key Points

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Implication

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Cite This Study

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