College students can benefit by participating in a prepaid meal plan

We compared Food Guide Pyramid (FGP) intake of college students according to their participation in a campus prepaid meal plan and their sex. Subjects were 503 single undergraduates (73 males, 430 females) who completed a 3-day dietary analysis assignment for an introductory nutrition course. Average intake for virtually all students fell short of FGP recommendations. We examined the difference between students' mean intake of foods from each FGP group and the recommended intakes. When compared with other student categories and food groups, male meal plan participants' vegetable and meat intakes were closer to recommended intakes, and meal plan participants' and females' fruit intakes were closer to recommended intakes. However, nonparticipants were closer than participants to recommended grain intakes. Participation in the prepaid campus meal plan appears to offer modest nutritional benefits to students through increased servings of foods from fruit, vegetable, and meat groups.