Association between relative importance of food choice motives and cardiometabolic risk among Mexican university students: a cross-sectional analysis

Abstract Food choice motives (FCM) determine young people’s dietary intake and, consequently, their risk of cardiometabolic disturbances, particularly throughout university life. This cross-sectional study explored associations between FCM’s relative importance and cardiometabolic risk among Mexican university students. A total of 395 students (mean age 21·2 years; 71·4 % women) provided sociodemographic data, importance to FCM (‘Price’, ‘Convenience’, ‘Mood’, ‘Food Identity’ (FI), ‘Sensory Appeal’ (SA), ‘Environmental and Wildlife Awareness’ (E&WA), ‘Image Management’ (IM), and ‘Health and Natural Content’). Cardiometabolic outcomes comprised BMI, fasting serum glucose (FSG), total cholesterol, TAG, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, TAG/FSG index, TAG:HDL-cholesterol ratio, waist circumference (WC), blood pressure (BP) and a cardiometabolic risk score (CMRS) derived from standardised ( z -scores) WC, FSG, TAG/FSG index, TAG:HDL-cholesterol ratio and BP. Adjusted estimates from multivariable linear regressions are reported. In the overall sample, ‘Price’ and ‘Convenience’ were associated with higher BMI ( β = 2·05, P = 0·013 for ‘Price’) and WC ( β = 7·09, P < 0·001; β = 5·91, P = 0·004, respectively), where ‘Mood’, ‘FI’ and ‘SA’ were related with FSG ( β = 5·21, p = 0·004; β = −4·42, P = 0·037) and TAG/FSG index ( β = 0·23, P = 0·026), respectively. Sex stratified analyses suggested stronger associations among women for ‘Convenience’, ‘Price’ and ‘SA’ with higher adiposity indicators (BMI and WC) and glycaemic markers (FSG and TAG/FSG index). Among men, ‘IM’ was inversely associated with the TAG and TAG:HDL-cholesterol ratio, while ‘Mood’ was positively associated with the TAG/FSG index. Overall, ‘SA’ was positively ( β = 1·60, P = 0·029) and ‘IM’ inversely ( β = −2·62, P = 0·044) associated with CMRS. Our findings highlight FCM’s role on cardiometabolic health in Mexican university students, emphasising the importance of addressing them through nutrition strategies.