{"id":34672,"date":"2026-09-15T12:21:46","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T16:21:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/?p=34672"},"modified":"2026-09-15T09:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T13:32:11","slug":"new-study-identifies-a-campus-protein-challenge-college-students-are-getting-enough-protein-but-want-healthier-options","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/2026\/09\/new-study-identifies-a-campus-protein-challenge-college-students-are-getting-enough-protein-but-want-healthier-options\/","title":{"rendered":"New study identifies a campus protein challenge: College students are getting enough protein but want healthier options"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"thumbnail pull-right\"><figcaption class=\"caption\"><i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\"><\/i><\/p>\n<p class=\"credit\">A new <a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1111\/jhn.70299\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">University of Maine study<\/a>*^\u00a0has\u00a0identified\u00a0what researchers describe as a\u00a0<strong>campus protein challenge<\/strong>. Although students generally consumed adequate amounts of protein, many reported that campus dining halls failed to provide protein choices they considered flavourful, appealing or prepared in ways they viewed as healthful.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Instead of asking for more protein, students described wanting better protein experiences, greater variety, better preparation, higher-quality and less heavily processed protein options and meals they were\u00a0actually excited\u00a0to eat.<\/p>\n<p>That distinction could have important implications for campus dining programs, which often evaluate menus based on nutritional adequacy but may overlook whether students perceive those foods as desirable enough to choose.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>Having protein on the menu doesn&#8217;t necessarily mean students see it as a good option,&#8221; said Jade McNamara, Ph.D., corresponding author and researcher\u00a0in\u00a0the University of Maine School of Food and Agriculture. &#8220;Our findings suggest campuses should think beyond simply providing protein and co<\/strong>nsider whether students have access to protein choices they find flavorful, varied and prepared in ways they perceive as healthful.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Evidence of the campus protein challenge\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Researchers surveyed 501 University of Maine undergraduates and conducted focus groups with 20 students.<\/p>\n<p>Students\u00a0appeared to be\u00a0meeting protein recommendations. Participants scored an\u00a0average\u00a04.8 out of 5 on the total protein foods\u00a0component\u00a0of the Short Healthy Eating Index,\u00a0indicating\u00a0generally adequate\u00a0protein intake.<\/p>\n<p>However, qualitative research analysis of the focus groups revealed that students repeatedly described campus dining halls as barriers to accessing protein foods they\u00a0actually wanted\u00a0to eat.<\/p>\n<p>When describing their experience with protein foods on campus, participants cited:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Limited variety\u00a0and\u00a0unappealing options<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Heavily processed choices<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Fried preparation methods<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Inconsistent\u00a0quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Flavorless preparations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Limited healthy options<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>One student described campus dining as having,\u00a0&#8220;\u2026the slim pickings for healthy foods that are\u00a0protein-rich.&#8221;\u00a0Another said,\u00a0&#8220;Even if they do offer more protein-rich options&#8230; they&#8217;re just not appetizing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Researchers believe the issue may be less about protein quantity and more about protein quality,\u00a0appeal\u00a0and accessibility.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The protein challenge reflects broader barriers to healthy eating\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Students&#8217; frustrations with protein were part of a larger nutrition picture.<\/p>\n<p>The average Healthy Eating Index score was just 47.7 out of 100\u00a0in this sample of undergraduate students, and one in three students (33.7%) experienced low or\u00a0very low\u00a0food security.<\/p>\n<p>Students described multiple barriers to healthier eating, including<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rising food costs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Limited time<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Restricted kitchen access<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Minimal cooking equipment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Transportation challenges<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Residence hall living<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For many students, the reality of campus life meant preparing meals with little more than a microwave while relying heavily on dining halls that often\u00a0failed to\u00a0provide protein\u00a0options\u00a0they considered appealing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Students see promise in meal kits\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Although\u00a0nearly 90%\u00a0of students had never used a<strong> meal-kit delivery service<\/strong>, many believed meal kits could help address some of the barriers they experienced.<\/p>\n<p>Students valued:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Convenience<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Simple preparation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Portioned ingredients<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Customizable meals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Affordability\u00a0remained\u00a0the biggest concern, suggesting future campus meal-kit programs would need to balance convenience with cost.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What this means for campus dining\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The findings suggest the next opportunity for campus dining may not be serving more\u00a0protein,\u00a0but\u00a0serving protein in ways students are more likely to choose.<\/p>\n<p>Researchers say future campus food solutions should prioritize protein options that are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Flavorful<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Varied<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>High-quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Convenient<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Affordable<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Prepared in ways students perceive as healthful\u00a0(e.g., not fried, not cooked in a lot of grease)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Easy to incorporate into busy student lifestyles<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cThe takeaway isn&#8217;t that colleges need to serve more protein,&#8221; said\u00a0Kent Harrison, Assistant Vice President of Channel Marketing at the National Pork Board.\u00a0&#8220;It&#8217;s that students want protein they&#8217;ll actually choose to eat. They described wanting options that are flavorful, varied, convenient and prepared in ways they perceive as healthful. That&#8217;s an important distinction for campus dining programs.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The findings also provide a roadmap for evaluating practical meal solutions designed around students&#8217; real-world preferences.<\/p>\n<p>For foodservice operators, that could include building meals around versatile, flavorful proteins that pair naturally with vegetables, whole\u00a0grains\u00a0and globally inspired flavors to improve both the appeal and overall quality of campus meals.<\/p>\n<p>F<strong>resh lean pork is one example<\/strong> of a protein that can be paired with vegetables, whole\u00a0grains\u00a0and globally inspired flavors to create convenient, appealing meals that align with students&#8217; preferences.\u00a0Designing meals around proteins that complement a variety of ingredients and cuisines may also help increase the appeal of\u00a0vegetables,\u00a0whole grains and other foods students are encouraged to eat more often.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"hidden-xs hidden-sm\" \/>\n<div class=\"featured_image\">\n<div class=\"details\">\n<div class=\"well\">\n<h4>JOURNAL<\/h4>\n<p>Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"well\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new University of Maine study*^\u00a0has\u00a0identified\u00a0what researchers describe as a\u00a0campus protein challenge. Although students generally consumed adequate amounts of protein, many reported that campus dining halls failed to provide protein choices they considered flavourful, appealing or prepared in ways they viewed as healthful. Instead of asking for more protein, students described wanting better protein experiences,&hellip;&nbsp;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":34673,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"no","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":70,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[808,1042,346],"tags":[234,180,73,214,39],"class_list":["post-34672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","category-protein","category-youth","tag-genetics","tag-health-2","tag-kids","tag-teens","tag-well-being"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34672"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34674,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34672\/revisions\/34674"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}