Calorie Compensation and Self-Regulation of Food Intake in College Students

Objective: To examine self-regulation of food intake among college students. Design: Randomized cross-over study completed between September and November, 2019. Setting: A large public university, Florida International University in South Florida. Participants: A total of 60 undergraduate college students, mean age of 19.8 +/- 1.43 years old, 62% female, 74% Hispanic, 76% White. Intervention(s): Participants attended 2 trials 1 week apart. During each visit, students were offered a pre-load drink (either 0 or 210 kcal) followed by a buffet-style lunch. Food intake was estimated using weights and pictures of the plates before and after eating and was compared between the 2 sessions. Main Outcome Measure(s): Self-regulation by calculating compensation indices (COMPX) and their correlation with students' body mass index (BMI). Analysis: Intake differences were examined using Welch and t tests. Regression analysis was used to assess correlations.Results: Students exhibited the ability to calorie compensate when intake is manipulated with a mean COMPX of 95.57 +/- 71.19. No score was perfect. There was a significant correlation between BMI and COMPX scores (F = 10.71, P < 0.001, r(2) = 0.292). Food choices differed between different BMI categories. Conclusions and Implications: Participants showed some degree of self-regulation, which suggests op-portunities for creating effective interventions to improve health status and promote a more sustainable method to control consumption among college students.