The Relationship between Sustainability-related Psychosocial Factors and Mediterranean Diet among Lithuanian University Students
1
Department of Physical and Social Education, Lithuanian Sports University, Kaunas, Lithuania
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT:
Background. Climate change underscores the urgent need to adopt sustainable behaviors. This study aims to investigate how sustainability-related attitudes and social norms influence adherence to the Mediterranean diet - a sustainable, healthy diet. Methods. This cross-sectional study included 638 university students. Adherence to an MD was assessed using a 14-item Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS scale, Martínez-González et al., 2012). Attitudes towards (7 items) and subjective norms (4 items) towards sustainable development were evaluated by a questionnaire formulated according to the methodological recommendations of the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 2006) and guidelines from similar studies (Hoj et al., 2018), Gericke et al., 2019). Data on gender, age, level of education, and financial status were collected. Only 1.9% of university students have good, 42.5% have an average (Group 1 – good and average), and 55.6% have poor adherence (Group 2 - poor) to MD. The means on attitudes (5.40 points) and subjective norm (4.97 points) scales were below medians (5.85 and 5.25 points, respectively). The means on attitudes (t=-2.96; p=.003) and subjective norm (t=-2.48; p =.014) towards sustainability scales were different between poor, and average as well as good dieters, with higher means for better MD adherence. Specifically, those who eat less red meat (t=-3.09; p=.002 and t=-2.51; p=.012, respectively) and animal fat (t=-2.75; p=.006 for attitude), but more vegetables (t=-2.94; p=.022 for subjective norm), have either a greater attitude or higher subjective norm or both than those who do not comply with the thresholds for an adequate amount of these products. Conclusion. Adherence to a sustainable and healthy diet among university students remains insufficient. Establishing strong social norms around sustainability in general, and nutrition specifically, along with educating students to foster sustainability-positive attitudes, could significantly enhance adherence to sustainable and healthy dietary practices.
Background. Climate change underscores the urgent need to adopt sustainable behaviors. This study aims to investigate how sustainability-related attitudes and social norms influence adherence to the Mediterranean diet - a sustainable, healthy diet. Methods. This cross-sectional study included 638 university students. Adherence to an MD was assessed using a 14-item Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS scale, Martínez-González et al., 2012). Attitudes towards (7 items) and subjective norms (4 items) towards sustainable development were evaluated by a questionnaire formulated according to the methodological recommendations of the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 2006) and guidelines from similar studies (Hoj et al., 2018), Gericke et al., 2019). Data on gender, age, level of education, and financial status were collected. Only 1.9% of university students have good, 42.5% have an average (Group 1 – good and average), and 55.6% have poor adherence (Group 2 - poor) to MD. The means on attitudes (5.40 points) and subjective norm (4.97 points) scales were below medians (5.85 and 5.25 points, respectively). The means on attitudes (t=-2.96; p=.003) and subjective norm (t=-2.48; p =.014) towards sustainability scales were different between poor, and average as well as good dieters, with higher means for better MD adherence. Specifically, those who eat less red meat (t=-3.09; p=.002 and t=-2.51; p=.012, respectively) and animal fat (t=-2.75; p=.006 for attitude), but more vegetables (t=-2.94; p=.022 for subjective norm), have either a greater attitude or higher subjective norm or both than those who do not comply with the thresholds for an adequate amount of these products. Conclusion. Adherence to a sustainable and healthy diet among university students remains insufficient. Establishing strong social norms around sustainability in general, and nutrition specifically, along with educating students to foster sustainability-positive attitudes, could significantly enhance adherence to sustainable and healthy dietary practices.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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