Research Article Eating Behaviours of British University Students: A Cluster Analysis on a Neglected Issue Jina Tanton, 1 Lorna J. Dodd, 2 Lorayne Woodfield, 1 and Mzwandile Mabhala 3 1 Department of Physical Education and Sport Studies, Newman University, Genners Lane, Bartley Green, Birmingham B32 3NT, UK 2 Department of Psychology & Counselling, Newman University, Genners Lane, Bartley Green, Birmingham B32 3NT, UK 3 Faculty of Health and Social Care, University of Chester, Castle Drive, Chester CH1 1SL, UK Correspondence should be addressed to Jina Tanton; j.tanton@staf.newman.ac.uk Received 30 June 2015; Revised 15 September 2015; Accepted 16 September 2015 Academic Editor: Masaru Shimada Copyright © 2015 Jina Tanton et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Unhealthy diet is a primary risk factor for noncommunicable diseases. University student populations are known to engage in health risking lifestyle behaviours including risky eating behaviours. Te purpose of this study was to examine eating behaviour patterns in a population of British university students using a two-step cluster analysis. Consumption prevalence of snack, convenience, and fast foods in addition to fruit and vegetables was measured using a self-report “Student Eating Behaviours” questionnaire on 345 undergraduate university students. Four clusters were identifed: “risky eating behaviours,” “mixed eating behaviours,” “moderate eating behaviours,” and “favourable eating behaviours.” Nineteen percent of students were categorised as having “favourable eating behaviours” whilst just under a third of students were categorised within the two most risky clusters. Riskier eating behaviour patterns were associated with living on campus and Christian faith. Te fndings of this study highlight the importance of university microenvironments on eating behaviours in university student populations. Religion as a mediator of eating behaviours is a novel fnding. 1. Introduction Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) continue to be the lead- ing cause of chronic illness, disability, and mortality globally [1]. An unhealthy diet is one of the four preventable primary risk factors for NCDs [2]. Low fbre intake and excessive fat intake are reported as distal risk factors for overweight and obesity, which in turn are intermediate risk factors for NCDs [3]. Fast foods and convenience foods are ofen low in nutritional value although energy dense [4]. Furthermore, higher consumption of convenience and fast foods has been associated with a lower intake of fruit and vegetables [5, 6] and lower diet quality [7]. Sufcient consumption of fruit and vegetables is important as the nutritional content of fruit and vegetables, such as dietary fbre, vitamins, and minerals, is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes [8]. University student populations are widely reported to engage in unhealthy lifestyle behaviours includ- ing unhealthy eating behaviours such as high consumption of snack foods [9–13], consumption of convenience foods [7], high consumption of fast foods [5, 7, 11, 13–16], and insufcient consumption of fruit and vegetables [9, 11, 12, 14– 26]. Tus, students indulging in these behaviours may be at increased risk of weight gain and future development of NCDs. Comparison of studies examining the prevalence of eating behaviours in student populations is difcult due to the diferent ways in which eating behaviours have been measured and reported and diferences in the demographic characteristics of the students sampled. Tat said, trends are beginning to emerge that suggest cause for concern. Published fgures suggest more than a third of students consume snack foods “at least several times a week” [11, 12] or 3-4 times a week or more [13]. Te reported prevalence of fast food consumption, three or more times per week [5, 14], “at least several times per week” [11], and 3-4 times a week or more [13], is varied, ranging from 20.2% in Polish university students [13] to 46% in USA university students [5]. Of interest, using the criteria of two of more takeaway meals as a main meal per Hindawi Publishing Corporation Advances in Preventive Medicine Volume 2015, Article ID 639239, 8 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/639239