Assessment of Dietary Habits, Physical Activity and Lifestyle in Medical University Students

Abstract

A busy schedule and demanding tasks challenge medical students to adjust their lifestyle and dietary habits. The aim of this study was to identify dietary habits and health-related behaviours among students. A number of 403 students (80.40% female, aged M = 21.21 ± 4.56) enrolled in a medical university provided answers to a questionnaire constructed especially for this research, which was divided into three parts: the first part collected socio-demographic, anthropometric, and medical data; the second part inquired about dietary habits, lifestyle, sleep, physical activity, water intake, and use of alcohol and cigarettes; and the third part collected information about nutrition-related data and the consumption of fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs, fish, and sweets. Data were analysed using SPSS v24. Students usually slept M = 6.71 ± 1.52 h/day, and one-third had self-imposed diet restrictions to control their weight. For both genders, the most important meal was lunch, and one-third of students had breakfast each morning. On average, the students consumed 1.64 ± 0.88 l of water per day and had 220 min of physical activity per week. Data about the consumption of fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs, fish, sweets, fast food, coffee, tea, alcohol, or carbohydrate drinks were presented. The results of our study proved that medical students have knowledge about how to maintain a healthy life and they practice it, which is important for their subsequent professional life.

Adherence to Dietary and Physical Activity Guidelines in Australian Undergraduate Biomedical Students and Associations with Body Composition and Metabolic Health: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Simi-larly, in the previous study of Australian university students from a range of study fields, 40% were overweight or obese, and 38% were insufficiently active [5]. Among Romanian medical students, however, only ~13% were overweight or obese and ~3.2 h per week was spent engaged in physical activity [52]. This latter study is more consistent with our findings, suggesting that biomedical students engage in healthier lifestyle practices than the general young adult and university student population.…”

“…Consumption of EDNP foods was associated with more frequent purchasing of foods and drinks on-campus [7]. Among students enrolled in a nutrition class in Australia [49], consumption of takeaway food was less frequent than that reported in other studies in young adults [50,51], and, in a cohort of Romanian medical students, the majority reported that they consumed fast food either not at all or only once per week [52]. Furthermore, a Spanish study comparing biomedical and non-biomedical university students reported that biomedical students made healthier food choices [19].…”

Students' physical well-being in physical education distance learning

“…Dietary habits established by both teenagers and young adults had a long-term impact on behavior and had a significant impact on adult life. Mealtime etiquette was extremely crucial for physical well-being [15]. Statistical analysis showed in Table 2 that more than half of the subjects complied with the normal 2-3 meals a day (63.71%, N = 1050) and only (0.30%, N = 5) students mentioned that they did not eat daily.…”

“…Moreover, because young adults can play essential roles in society (e.g., physicians, lawyers, health ministers, police officers), as well as decisionmakers and having significant behavior patterns and attitudes, the health and lifestyle habits of university students were of interest to public health [15]. Because of this, it was vital to take action to improve nutrition knowledge, particularly regarding healthy lifestyle/habits and physical education.…”

Gender Differences in Healthy Lifestyle, Body Consciousness, and the Use of Social Networks among Medical Students

“…Researchers have identified that healthcare students have an increased focus on their own health, practice a better lifestyle compared to other student populations, and have a favorable perception of their own health and body [ 12 , 13 ]. The strong relationship between healthy lifestyle, body image, and healthy behaviors is interrelated with mental health [ 9 ].…”