Estado nutricional y hábitos alimentarios en estudiantes de medicina de la Universidad Técnica del Norte

Nutritional status and eating habits in medical students at Tecnica del Norte University

Abstract

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The bad eating habits have increased in recent years. The objective of the research was to determine the nutritional status and eating habits in medical students at the Tecnica del Norte University. It was a nonexperimental, descriptive, cross-sectional study. The sample was made up of 25 university students, and pregnant women were excluded. A nutritional evaluation was performed through BMI, % body fat, % muscle, level of visceral fat, and waist circumference; eating habits were identified through a survey with questions about meal times and food preferences and was complemented with a scored instrument based on the Survey of Food Quality for the Elderly, which was modified for the age group evaluated (ECAAM) to identify good or poor food quality. The main results indicate that there is a majority of students (80%) with normal nutritional status according to BMI (X 22.57 ± 2.41 Kg/m2), 20% have a high percentage of fat, and all subjects with a fat level of normal visceral, no cardiometabolic risk is found according to waist circumference. In terms of eating habits, according to the scored instrument, 96% have a poor quality of food, equal proportion between the quality of food according to healthy and unhealthy eating habits. In conclusion, overweight and obesity are not found to be risk factors, poor quality of food is a risk factor, as well as the presence of unhealthy eating habits and the absence of healthy eating habits.