Factors influencing eating behavior and dietary intake among resident students in a public university in Bangladesh: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Over the past decades, Bangladesh has made substantial progress in improving higher education, and in part, this was achieved by promoting residence based higher education in public universities. University residency is considered a crucial period for students to develop healthy eating habits and adopt nutritious intake, which comprise a strong foundation for good health throughout life. Although, there is extensive literature on eating behaviors and dietary intake internationally, there appears to be relatively scarce research and analysis concerning Bangladesh. This study aims to address this, by investigating the factors that influence eating behavior and dietary intake. METHODS: Adopting a qualitative approach, we conducted 25 in-depth interviews and 13 focus group discussions with students of various disciplines and semesters. We…