Nutritional status in students following a plant-based diet at the Adventist University of Chile. A descriptive study

Abstract

Introduction: the last decade has been characterized by an increase in people's interest in eating a plant-based diet (PBD). This dietary pattern partially or wholly excludes foods of animal origin, from which different subgroups of diets are derived, which are defined by the type of food of animal origin that is excluded or consumed. Objective: describe the nutritional status of students on a PBD at the Adventist University of Chile. Methods: This is a descriptive observational study, with non-probabilistic snowball sampling. The primary variable was nutritional status, secondary variables were CVR, PBD subgroups and motivations. Results: a total of 50 subjects participated, with a mean age of 23,4 years, 56 % of whom were women. The predominant nutritional status was normal with 66 %, and low cardiovascular risk (86 %). According to the questionnaire, the majority of the students reported a flexitarian diet (48 %), with the most frequently mentioned motivation for a DBP being health and wellbeing (94 %).Conclusions: at the Adventist University of Chile, students who follow a plant-based diet tend to have a normal nutritional status, with their main motivation being related to obtaining health benefits. These findings could contribute to understanding the dietary trends and motivations behind plant-based diets in university students