Adherence to Mediterranean diet in University of Rijeka students

Abstract

The traditional Mediterranean diet is associated with reducing the risk of many chronic non-communicable diseases. The aim of thisstudy was to determine diet quality in students from Rijeka. In addition, adherence to Mediterranean diet was assessed using twoindices, the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index and the Mediterranean Diet Score. The research was conducted from January to May2018 and included 455 students from Rijeka University, 336 women and 119 men. Data on age, physical activity, anthropometry,smoking habits and eating habits were obtained from the above mentioned questionnaires. The mean diet quality score of the studentsobtained by the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index was 9.61, implying medium to poor diet quality. According to the MediterraneanDiet Score, diet quality was estimated as being poor (mean score 3.70). Women had a significantly better Mediterranean DietQuality Index (9.36) than men (p<0.001) and non-smoking students had a significantly better Mediterranean Diet Quality Index(9.11) than those that smoked (p<0.001). In conclusion, according to the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index and the MediterraneanDiet Score, the study showed the diet of students to be medium to poor. From these results, it is evident that there is the need to increaseadherence to the Mediterranean diet and to change dietary habits of students. According to the results obtained, there is clearneed to create a health promotion program, with special emphasis on diet and diet education.Key words: UNIVERSITY STUDENTS; DIET QUALITY; MEDITERRANEAN DIET