Abstract
Background. Food choices are influenced by habits, experiences, as well as various socioeconomic factors. Understanding these drivers can mitigate negative effects of poor nutrition and yield societal benefits. Preference elicitation methods like discrete choice experiments help understand people’s food preferences revealing factors influencing choices the most, such as nutritional content or cost of a meal. This information can be helpful in developing tailored meal-based interventions and informing food policies. Universities, as anchor institutions, are increasingly concerned with health, wellbeing, and sustainability of their students and staff. Yet, there is limited evidence on food preferences in university settings. This paper outlines a discrete choice experiment protocol to compare lunch preferences among university staff and students across six European countries, aiming to inform campus food policies.
Methods. Attributes and levels were derived from a systematic literature review of preference-based studies focused on the drivers of meal choices and validated in the focus group with students and staff from participating universities. The attributes in the discrete choice experiment include nutritional content, price, time to access a meal, sensory properties of a meal, naturalness of the ingredients, and meal size. The survey was piloted in think-aloud interviews with students and staff in participating universities. We will collect preference data, along with data on participants’ sociodemographic characteristics, food-related behaviour, opinions about food, experience of food insecurity, physical activity, and body composition, using an online survey. Preference data will be analysed using random parameter logit and latent class models.
Discussion. This study will be the first to investigate lunch preferences of university students and staff across six European countries, informing campus food policies. While campus food systems may not always align with students’ and staff preferences, incorporating them into policy-making can enhance satisfaction and well-being. Strengths include an international focus, inclusion of complementary variables, and involvement of potential respondents in all phases of developing this research. Acknowledging limitations, such as varying lunch habits, the study aims to provide valuable insights for improving university food policies and overall community well-being.