NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A small survey of college students suggests that young men may choose meat as a mainstay of their diet, while women are more likely to eat well-balanced meals.

It is important to take note of gender preferences for food, according to Dr. Laurence J. Nolan of Wagner College in Staten Island, New York. Dietary patterns established at a young age may persist throughout a lifetime, and long-term imbalances in nutritional intake can lead to health problems down the road, he said.

For example, if men are not getting enough dietary fiber from not eating enough vegetables, or if they are consuming too much fat, "it could reflect potential obesity, or other problems as they get older, if that continues," Nolan said.

"For the men, it's clear that meat was the main component of every meal--no matter what situation they're in," Nolan told Reuters Health.

But they're not the only ones guilty of sometimes straying from recommended diets: Nolan and his team also found that women say they are more likely to eat dessert when dining alone than in the presence of others.

However, based on 74 college students' self-reports of their eating behaviors, women, in general, eat more balanced meals than men, Nolan concluded.

During the study, 53 women and 21 men completed questionnaires asking them to rate how much of each type of food they would expect to eat during different social situations. Foods consisted of bread, salad, pasta, vegetables, meat and dessert. The social situations varied from formal to informal, with students rating dining choices during scenarios such as first dates, meals with family and friends, or when eating alone.

Nolan and his team found that men eat more meat than anything else in all social situations, and report eating fewer vegetables than women when dining with friends or eating alone.

The female study participants, in contrast, said they believed they would eat roughly the same amount of food from each category in all social situations, although they said they would be more likely to eat dessert when dining alone.

The researchers presented their findings at the recent American Psychological Society meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.

In an interview with Reuters Health, Nolan speculated that gender differences in meals could stem from disparities in what each gender thinks should be eaten during meals, or from expectations of what will be available at each meal. For example, men may see fewer vegetables and more meat when thinking of their own refrigerators and those of their friends, the researcher said.

"It could be that the women--for whatever reasons, health, weight consciousness--feel that vegetables are always going to be a part of what they consume," Nolan said.

Health officials at colleges and universities often worry about eating disorders in female students, and perhaps should focus efforts to educate students about nutrition on men, as well, Nolan added.

"This is the first time students are out on they're own," Nolan said, "Both sexes should be informed about good food choices, and the tendencies they might have," he added.

Reference Source 89

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