Dietary patterns and dietary recommendations achievement from Latin American college students during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown

• Autores: Murillo, Ana Gabriela; Gómez, Georgina; Durán Agüero, Samuel; Parra Soto, Solange Liliana; Araneda, Jacqueline; Morales, Gladys; Ríos Castillo, Israel; Carpio Arias, Valeria; Cavagnari, Brian M.; Nava González, Edna J.; Bejarano Roncancio, Jhon J.; Núñez Martínez, Beatriz; Cordón Arrivillaga, Karla; Meza Miranda, Eliana Romina; Mauricio Alza, Saby; Landaeta Díaz, Leslie
• Año de publicación: 2022
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Fuente: Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. 2022, 6
• Materia: DIETA; ALIMENTACION; ESTUDIANTES UNIVERSITARIOS; PANDEMIA; AISLAMIENTO SOCIAL, PREVENTIVO Y OBLIGATORIO
• Institución: Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina

Fil: Murillo, Ana Gabriela. University of Costa Rica. School of Medicine. Department of Biochemistry; Costa Rica
Fil: Gómez, Georgina. University of Costa Rica. School of Medicine. Department of Biochemistry; Costa Rica
Fil: Durán Agüero, Samuel. Universidad San Sebastián. Facultad de Ciencias para el Cuidado de la Salud. Escuela de Nutrición y Dietética; Chile
Fil: Parra Soto, Solange Liliana. University of Glasgow. Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences. BHF Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre; Escocia
Fil: Parra Soto, Solange Liliana. University of Glasgow. Institute of Health and Wellbeing; Escocia
Fil: Araneda, Jacqueline. Universidad del Bío-Bío. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud y de los Alimentos. Departamento de Nutrición y Salud Pública; Chile
Fil: Morales, Gladys. Universidad de La Frontera. Investigación en Epidemiología Cardiovascular y Nutricional; Chile
Fil: Morales, Gladys. Universidad de La Frontera. Facultad de Medicina. Departamento de Salud Pública; Chile
Fil: Ríos Castillo, Israel. Universidad de Panamá. Facultad de Medicina. Escuela de Nutrición; Panamá
Fil: Ríos Castillo, Israel. Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura. Oficina Subregional de la FAO para Mesoamérica; Panamá
Fil: Carpio Arias, Valeria. Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo. Facultad de Salud Pública. Grupo de Investigación en Alimentación y Nutrición H; Ecuador
Fil: Cavagnari, Brian M. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Escuela de Nutrición; Argentina
Fil: Nava González, Edna J. Universidad Autónoma de Nueva Léon. Facultad de Salud Pública y Nutrición; México
Fil: Bejarano Roncancio, Jhon J. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Facultad de Medicina. Departamento de Nutrición Humana; Colombia
Fil: Núñez Martínez, Beatriz. Universidad Autónoma de Asunción. Departamento de Nutrición; Paraguay
Fil: Cordón Arrivillaga, Karla. Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Farmacia. Unidad de Investigación en Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional; Escuela de Nutrición; Guatemala
Fil: Meza Miranda, Eliana Romina. Universidad Nacional de Asunción. Centro Multidisciplinario de Investigaciones Tecnológicas; Paraguay
Fil: Mauricio Alza, Saby. Universidad Privada Norbert Wiener; Perú
Fil: Landaeta Díaz, Leslie. Universidad de Las Américas. Facultad de Salud y Ciencias Sociales. Escuela de Nutrición y Dietética; Chile
Abstract: This study aimed to compare the diet quality of different dietary patterns among college students from Latin American countries, including vegetarians, vegans, and omnivores during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional, observational, multicenter study was conducted including a non- probabilistic sample of university students from 10 countries. University students were invited to participate in the study through social network platforms. Participants were self-reported to have followed a specific dietary pattern; either the Prudent diet, Western diet, Ovo-dairy-vegetarian diet, Fish-vegetarian diet, Strict vegetarian diet (vegan) or other. The last three patterns (vegetarians and vegans) were grouped as following a plant-based diet. A self-assessment survey was used to evaluate healthy eating habits using a questionnaire with values between 1 (do not consume) and 5 (consume) for a total of 9–45 points (higher values represent better eating habits). Unhealthy habits were assessed with nine questions. A total of 4,809 students filled out the questionnaire, and the majority of them were females (73.7%). A high percentage have been in lockdown for more than 5 months and were in lockdown when the survey was released. 74.3% were self-reported to follow a prudent diet, while 11.4% reported following a western dietary pattern and 8.8% a plant-based diet. When compliance with healthy and unhealthy dietary habits was analyzed, although all groups had low compliance, the plant-based diet group (56.09 ±6.11) performed better than the Western diet group (48.03 ± 5.99). The total diet quality score was significantly higher for plant-based diet followers, who also tended to better achieve the recommendations than omnivorous students, especially the ones following a western diet. These results present evidence that young adults such as college-aged students have unhealthy dietary habits. However, the ones who follow a plant-based diet such as vegetarians and vegans exhibit better scores and healthier dietary conducts.