AUTHOR=Shimizu Mitsuru , Janke Kimberly , Rose Paul , Murphy Jason 

TITLE=Food conscientiousness as a buffer against college students' weight gain

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1434091

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2025.1434091

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=IntroductionA variety of psychological factors may influence weight gain among undergraduates. As one of the psychological factors that might influence such weight gain, this research introduces food conscientiousness, a behavioral tendency toward making healthier food choices.MethodsIn Phase 1 of the study, we developed a food conscientiousness scale. In Phase 2, we examined whether undergraduates demonstrated weight gain and whether it was smaller among those high in food conscientiousness.ResultsThe results indicated that college students demonstrated weight gain (2 lbs, on average) during the fall 2020 semester. Furthermore, food conscientiousness was significantly negatively associated with weight gain, independent of general conscientiousness. Importantly, this effect was neither moderated by where students lived nor by their perceived access to healthy food, suggesting that food conscientiousness can prevent weight gain regardless of lifestyle.ConclusionCollege undergraduates high (+1 SD) in food conscientiousness reported smaller weight gain (0.24 lbs) compared to those low (−1 SD) in food conscientiousness (3.93 lbs) during the first 2 months of a fall semester. The results suggest that food conscientiousness may be one of the psychological factors that shapes the extent to young adults gain weight.