Lifestyles of university students of the nutrition and dietetics program

Abstract

The objective of the investigation consisted in determine the lifestyles of university students of the Nutrition and Dietetics. Observational, descriptive, prospective, cross-sectional study. The information was collected through the Lifestyles Questionnaire in Young University Students. Of the practices referred by the students for each of the dimensions of the lifestyle evaluated (8), 87.5% were healthy, except for that corresponding to exercise and physical activity. 62.4% said that the main reason for not doing or stop exercising and physical activity was laziness. Significant differences by sex were identified for unhealthy physical activity practices (p =
0.000). Although the practices for the feeding dimension were healthy, 61.2% of the students expressed the consumption of fast, fried, or sweet foods and 58% of soft drinks or artificial drinks. A large percentage of students stated that they had the knowledge to choose healthy foods, a resource for which significant differences by sex were identified, being more likely in men than women (p = 0.039). The students carry out healthy practices for the different dimensions of life style except the one corresponding to exercise and physical activity, however, they referred resources and motivations that allow them to make decisions and adopt fundamental behaviors for health.