Do the Castilian-Manchego University Students Follow a Mediterranean Diet?

Abstract

Objective: To determine the adherence to the Mediterranean diet of a university population and to analyze various factors that could condition its nutritional quality. Material and Methods: Distribution of the kidmed test to a sample of 50 university students. The kidmed index (0 to 10) indicated whether adherence to the Mediterranean diet was low (0 to 3), average (4 to 6), or high (7 to 10). Each respondent recorded sex, age, weight, size and province of origin. Results: The sample was 33 males and 17 females aged between 18 and 25 years. 9.5% of university students had a low kidmed index, 62.1% intermediate and 28.4% high. Overweight university students had a significantly higher percentage of low adherences (15.5%) (p < 0.05) than those with a normal nutritional status (8.5%). Conclusion: 71.6% of university students needed to improve their food pattern (medium-low adherence to the Mediterranean diet). Students with low adherence had a higher risk of being overweight. It would be desirable to develop nutritional education programmes in university curricula.