Nutritional status and eating habits of university students: a study in a city with low population density

Abstract

Introduction: admission to a university seems to predispose the student to a series of changes in his lifestyle, causing several negative factors, among them sedentary lifestyle and inappropriate eating habits.

Objective: to evaluate the nutritional status and eating habits of university students in a city with low population density.

Material and Methods: cross-sectional study carried out with 227 university students in the city of Cornélio Procópio/PR (48,677 inhabitants), which were categorized by gender (men/n = 104 and women/n = 123) and undergraduate area (health/n = 126 and human/n = 101). For analysis of eating habits, a semi-structured questionnaire was applied and the Body Mass Index was assessed to assess the nutritional status.

Results: it was observed that 69.3% of the humanities students assumed not to perform a good dietary routine (? 2 14.03 and p <0.01). Regarding food frequency (? 2 0.48 and p <0.01), women (65.9%) have a high consumption of vegetables when compared to men (48.1%). For caffeine consumption, university students in the humanities area (? 2 5.45 and p <0.02) have a high consumption of caffeinated products (62.4%), when compared to those in the health area (46.8%).

Conclusion: both the gender and the area of graduation can be determinants in the nutritional status, frequency and eating habits of university students in a municipality with a low population density.