SUMMARY—The food preferences of approximately 50,000 college students representing 1 of the college enrollment in the United Stares during the 1966‐1967 school year were analyzed. The responses were collected on a regional basis, subdivided as to sex and were reported as national and regional totals. Two hundred and seven food items were surveyed. Foods were ranked in terms of percent Liked, Disliked and Do Not Know. Median and percentile groupings for each food class, as well as for all foods, were calculated. The relationships between food preferences and nutritional values of foods were examined. The percent of the recommended dietary allowance provided by one serving of a given food item was calculated for vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron. The results indicated that if food preferences were the sole determinant of food intake, then the dietary intake would be low in vitamin A. In fact, the best sources of vitamin A were among the most disliked foods in the entire survey. The relationship between food preferences and possible vitamin C and calcium deficiencies was not clear‐cut Except for liver, one of the best sources of dietary iron, there was little evidence that food preferences discriminated against foods containing significant amounts of
展开▼
