Healthy and sustainable food consumption among university students: cultural drivers and behavioural patterns

Purpose This study aims to examine how university students’ eating habits are formed and negotiated at the intersection of health perceptions, sustainability concerns, cultural values, and structural constraints. It seeks to identify the main factors influencing students’ food choices, the role of health and environmental considerations, and the presence of intercultural differences in consumption patterns. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a qualitative, inductive research design, using semi-structured interviews with 14 university students aged 18–26 from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds across seven countries. Data were analysed using the Gioia methodology, enabling the development of first-order concepts, second-order themes, and aggregate dimensions to build a conceptual model of eating habit formation. Findings The findings show that students’ food choices are not driven by isolated individual preferences but emerge from dynamic interactions between structural determinants (e.g. affordability, availability, time constraints), culturally embedded food values, and selective engagement with health and environmental responsibility. While participants demonstrate growing awareness of healthy and sustainable eating, economic constraints, information asymmetries, and social dynamics often limit the translation of values into practice. Environmental concerns are widely acknowledged but inconsistently enacted, partly due to scepticism toward sustainability labels and greenwashing. Significant intercultural differences were observed in food norms, priorities, and constraints. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by proposing an integrative model that explains how university students’ eating habits are shaped through the interaction of structural conditions and cultural values, moderated by selective engagement with health and sustainability. By moving beyond attitude–behaviour explanations, the paper offers a nuanced understanding of young consumers as active agents navigating competing constraints and provides relevant insights for policy, education, and institutional food strategies.