Eating Habits and Mental Health of College Students in Japan during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

While the relationship between eating habits and mental health has been widely studied, there is limited research focusing on college students during emergency situations such as pandemics. We conducted an online questionnaire survey to address this gap. Clustering analysis was applied to identify students’ eating habits, which are possibly more complex than traditional eating habits. Based on the identified eating habits, the students were separated into five groups. We evaluated the relationship between eating habits and mental health in these five groups using University Personality Inventory scores. Based on the results, the largest group—corresponding to slightly less than half of the participants—had the highest vegetable intake and mental health levels. This aligns with findings from numerous prior studies. However, our novel discovery was the presence of another group within those with higher vegetable intake, who had lower levels of mental health. Conversely, a group with lower vegetable intake had higher levels of mental health; remarkably, students in this group frequently consumed soft drinks, suggesting that, during the COVID-19 emergency, indulgent food and drinks may have played a role in enhancing mental health.