Consumption of ultra-processed foods and dietary characteristics among university students in Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Abstract
Students, upon entering college, may experience changes in their dietary pattern, characterized by consumption of ultra-processed foods, commonly associated with the development of chronic non-communicable diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, among others. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the consumption of ultra-processed foods and dietary characteristics in college students from different undergraduate courses at a institution located in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study, using an online questionnaire with adult university students. For dietary characteristics, a validated food frequency questionnaire adapted for the online survey was used and ultra-processed foods from this questionnaire were analyzed. 397 university students from 10 undergraduate courses at the institution were included (82.6% women). The mean age was 24.6 ± 7.0 years, and 25.4% were classified as overweight and 9.6% as obese, with no differences between men and women (p=0.629). Regarding the consumption of ultra-processed foods, daily consumption of these foods was observed in some university students, such as: sausages 33.3%; sweet and savory biscuits 27.8%; candy, gum and chewing gum 19.4%; soft drinks 16.5%; artificial juices 16.4%; chocolates 13.4%, among others. Thus, the present research demonstrated a daily consumption of ultra-processed foods by university students, contradicting the recommendations of the Food Guide for the Brazilian Population. This demonstrates the importance of carrying out institutional actions or campaigns reinforcing the importance of healthy eating for the health of these students.
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