Changes in Eating Habits among Displaced and Non-Displaced University Students

Rita Bárbara and Cíntia Ferreira-Pêgo
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Rita Bárbara: School of Sciences and Health Technologies, Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, Av. Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisbon, Portugal
Cíntia Ferreira-Pêgo: CBIOS Lusófona’s Research Center for Biosciences and Health Technologies, Av. Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisbon, Portugal

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 15, 1-9

Abstract: Nowadays the younger generations are moving their food habits from the traditional diet to a Western diet, which is low in fruits and vegetables and high in fat and sugary drinks. University students are a particularly vulnerable population once, with the entrance to university, they are subjected to new influences and responsibilities; in particular, those who live far from their parents’ houses are more predisposed to unhealthy eating habits. To assess the influence that admission to university has had on the frequency of intake of certain foods and meals as well as their adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet), self-administered questionnaires were applied. The sample included 97 Portuguese students, with an average age of 21 years, a normal weight, according to body mass index, and an average MedDiet adherence. Most of the individuals did not smoke and the majority did not drink coffee. It was also observed that displaced students consume fast food more frequently compared to the period before they start university. Fish ingestion decreased and coffee consumption increased, in the same group, after starting their university studies.

Keywords: university students; displaced students; Mediterranean diet adherence; food habit changes; Portuguese students (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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