The study of the impact of academic contexts on the health and well-being of university students, particularly with regard to their eating habits and emotional states, has become an increasingly important area of research due to concerns about the physical and mental health of this future generation. The aim of this study was to understand the food decision-making process of university students when faced with the choice of healthy/unhealthy snacks using an innovative methodology and brain imaging technique, fNIRS - functional near infrared spectroscopy. The fNIRS technique measures the concentration of oxygenated and deoxygenated haemoglobin in the brain and maps brain activation in real time. The sample consisted of 28 participants with an average age of 22.07 years. The results showed that the majority of participants showed a preference for unhealthy food choices compared to healthy choices in a stressful condition. However, stress did not seem to affect the speed of food choice. Brain activation analysis showed that the dorsolateral, ventromedial and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex regions were particularly activated during food evaluation and selection. It was also observed that although emotional eating was high, there was no significant correlation between induced stress and an increase in unhealthy food choices. Similarly, perceived health and sleep habits showed no clear associations with eating patterns. We conclude that studies such as this provide a comprehensive view of the complexities involved in food choices and highlight the need for integrated strategies to promote healthy food choices, particularly in the face of stressful situations, in order to promote the physical and mental health, quality of life and cognitive performance of this new generation.
- Food decision-making
- University students
- Healthy snacks
- Stress
- fNIRS
Tomada de decisão alimentar: estudo exploratório com fNIRS
Costa, J. M. T. P. D. (Student). 9 Jul 2024
Student thesis: Master's Thesis
