title: Assessment of lifestyle and eating habits among undergraduate students in northern Italy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Dietary habits of university students were analyzed in order to investigate any differences between students living at and away from home. Two hundred and fifty-eight undergraduate students attending University of Ferrara completed a self-administered questionnaire on demographic characteristics, food frequency consumption habits and body weight perception.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Students living at home practiced more sport and consumed more frequently raw and cooked vegetables, fish, meat and poultry, fresh fruit, eggs, bread/cereals. Conversely, students living away from home consumed more often packaged/ready food, beer and spirits, milk and chips. The majority of students living alone reported a modification of dietary habits since leaving family. Furthermore they perceived to have a weight condition different from normal in a greater extent than students living with family.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Students living alone encountered more difficulties in adopting a healthy diet so it would be desirable to adopt nutritional educational interventions on university students, usually neglected by these measures.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche, Sezione di Medicina di Sanità Pubblica, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lupi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche ed Ambientali, Università del Salento, Lecce, Italy&nbsp;
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bagordo
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche, Sezione di Medicina di Sanità Pubblica, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: Armando
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stefanati
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche ed Ambientali, Università del Salento, Lecce, Italy&nbsp;
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Grassi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche, Sezione di Medicina di Sanità Pubblica, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Piccinni
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche, Sezione di Medicina di Sanità Pubblica, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bergamini
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche ed Ambientali, Università del Salento, Lecce, Italy&nbsp;
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Donno
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004032:Diet; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005190:Family; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult