title: [Adherence to a Mediterranean diet in a college population].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the adherence to the Mediterranean diet of a university population and to analyze several factors that may condition its nutritional quality.
  
  
  METHODS
  Distribution of the Kidmed test to a random sample of 570 university students. The Kidmed index (0-12) indicated whether the adherence to the Mediterranean diet was low (0-3), intermediate (4-7) or high (8-12). The gender, age, weight, height, and body mass index were gathered from each participant, as well as the type of residence and the province of origin.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sample comprised 217 men and 353 women aged 18-25 years. 9.5% of the university students had a low Kidmed index, 62.1% intermediate, and 28.4% high. Those students living at their parental home had a high percentage of adherence (35.6%), significantly higher (p < 0.05) to that of those living at a student's residence (11.1%) or at a student's apartment (11.2%). Overweighed students had a low percentage of adherence (15.5%), significantly higher (p < 0.05) to those with a normal nutritional situation (8.5%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  71.6% of university students need to improve their dietary pattern (low to intermediate adherence to the Mediterranean diet), and we could observe a certain family factor of preservation of the traditional dietary habits. Those university students with low adherence had a higher risk for being overweighed. It would be convenient to develop nutritional education programs in the university curricula.
authors: Departamento de Pediatría, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Navarra, España. tduratra@cfnavarra.es
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Durá Travé
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Castroviejo Gandarias
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D038441:Diet, Mediterranean; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012737:Sex Factors; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D013334:Students; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult