“Evaluación de consumo de alimentos e índice de calidad de la dieta en jóvenes universitarios de Nuevo León Monterrey”

Background: Diet plays a fundamental role in the health and well-being of individuals, especially during the university stage, characterized by changes in lifestyle habits and greater autonomy in food decision-making. Previous studies have shown that university students tend to have nutritional deficits and a high consumption of processed foods and sugary drinks.
Objective: To evaluate food consumption and calculate the diet quality index in young university students at the University of Monterrey.
Methods: Students from the University of Monterrey were invited to participate, including all those students who voluntarily agreed to participate. A clinical history was taken, a qualitative food frequency was applied, and three 24-hour recalls were applied, with these data a nutritional evaluation was obtained, where the diet quality index was calculated.
Results: Caloric energy consumption in men was 2 278 kcal/day and in women 2 008 kcal/day. Thirty-nine percent of the students consumed vegetables two to three times a week, 41.2% consumed vegetables daily, 40.4% consumed fruits daily, 61% consumed legumes two to three times a week, 64.8% consumed red meat two to three times a week, 47.1% consumed chicken two to three times a week, 55.9% consume fish and seafood two to three times per week, 55.8% consume beer and distillates two to three times per week, and 50.1% consume fried foods two to three times per week.
Conclusion: Most individuals presented moderate adherence to the diet quality index and high protein intake with respect to the daily recommendation.


Keywords: Food consumption, Diet evaluation, Diet quality index.