Health education: an analysis of wine and carbonated beverage consumption in college students in Extremadura.

Abstract

Introduction: In our society, Mediterranean Diet (MD) eating habits are currently being lost. Promoting them and learning them is a competency that has to be developed in groups of young people, such as college students, especially correct hydration intake, whose benefits are not only physiological but cognitive as well. Furthermore, worthy of note is the importance of instruction, through Health Education (HE), of healthy eating habits in college students who will be teachers in the future, given their potential as public health agents. Objective: To analyse the intake of benchmark MD drinks in college students. Method: A cross-sector and descriptive survey in the healthy university population, with an average age of: 22.01 years and a BMI: 21.93 kg/m2, on the Badajoz campus of the UEX (n=160). The analysis was based on the Predimed Survey, which records the consumption of carbonated and/or sweetened beverages (soft drinks, colas, tonic waters, bitter-flavoured drinks) per day and the consumption of wine per week. Results: The most significant results showed that the daily consumption of carbonated and/or sweetened beverages stood at 58.8% in college students in general and at 67.5% for college students who will be teachers in the future. With respect to wine consumption, worthy of explanation is the fact that it was only quantified at 1.25% in college students who will be teachers in the future. Conclusions: The moderate residual consumption of wine in the university population analysed and the high consumption of carbonated and/or sweetened beverages stands out. Hence, the promotion of healthy hydration through Health Education is recommendable.