Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet by the student population in the urban setting

Section: Originals

How to quote

Calvo Ayuso N, Soto Rodríguez A, Pérez Fernández MR. Adherencia a la dieta mediterránea de la población estudiantil de ámbito urbano. Metas Enferm mar 2018; 21(2):5-10.

Authors

Natalia Calvo Ayuso1, Anxela Soto Rodríguez2, Mª Reyes Pérez Fernández3

Position

1Experta en Intervención Multidisciplinar en la Diversidad de Contextos educativos. Enfermera. Gerencia de Gestión Integrada de Ourense, Verín y O Barco de Valdeorras (SERGAS)2Doctora. Profesora. Facultad de Enfermería. Universidad San Jorge. Zaragoza3Doctora. Profesora. Escuela Universitaria de Enfermería. Universidad de Vigo. Gerencia de Gestión Integrada de Ourense, Verín y O Barco de Valdeorras (SERGAS)

Contact address

Mª Reyes Pérez Fernández. Escuela Universitaria de Enfermería. Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Ourense. C/ Ramón Puga, 52-54. 32005 Ourense.

Contact email: mariareyes.perez.fernandez@sergas.es

Abstract

Objective: to determine the degree of adherence to the Mediterranean Diet by high school students in a Galician city, as well as to determine the impact of their lifestyle and the socio-professional characteristics of their parents on said adherence.
Method: a transversal descriptive study. The study population were the students from a High School in Orense, during the 2014/2015 term (n= 345). Study variables: sociodemographical and epidemiological variables of the adolescents, and socio-professional variables of their parents. The Quick Kreceplus Test was used to measure the quality of physical exercise, and the KIDMED Test was used to assess the adherence to the Mediterranean Diet. Chi Square and Student’s t were used for bivariate analysis.
Results: there was participation by 128 students, with a mean age of 16.8 years (SD: 0.79). Of these, 22% smoked, 25% drank alcohol more than once a week, and 18% ate fast food once a week. A higher proportion of male students had good quality physical activity (18.6% versus 1.4%; p=0.001), and also a higher number of hours per day (3.12 versus 1.45; p= 0.000). A 21.9% of the students presented good adherence to the Mediterranean Diet, and no association could be determined with any of the factors studied.
Conclusions: high school students from North-Western Spain show low adherence to the Mediterranean Diet, a low level of physical activity, and a high intake of fast food. Healthcare education programs should be implemented in order to improve the lifestyle of the adolescent population.

Keywords:

mediterranean diet; exercise; adolescents; smoking; alcoholic drinks; health promotion; health promotion

Versión en Español

Título:

Adherencia a la dieta mediterránea de la población estudiantil de ámbito urbano