Abstract

Author(s): Cadarso Suárez, Alexandre1; Dopico Calvo, Xurxo2; Iglesias-Soler, Eliseo2; Cadarso Suárez, Carmen María3; Gude Sampedro, Francisco4

Introduction and Objectives: Given all the beneficial aspects reported by the physical activity and a healthy diet, the aim of this study was to identify the degree of adherence to the mediterranean diet and to physical activity, and determinethe influence of these factors on the quality of life related to health (HRQOL) in students of the university community of Galicia, in order to establish proposals aimed at improving their habits.

Methods: The total sample size was 439 university students (62% female and 38% male) and results were extracted through the application of the questionnaires IPAQ, Test Kidmed and SF12 to measure physical activity, the degree of adherence to the Mediterranean diet and physical and mental health respectively. All university students participated voluntarily, fulfilling the criteria of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Results and Discussion: Most of the participants population were of normal weight but of the overweight and obese participants there were a significantly higher percentage of men than women. Low physical activity was observed in 17% of women and 11% of men registered. As for the adherence to the Mediterranean diet, higher scores are observed in women. Men who had a greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet and showed a greater degree of physical activity achieved higher scores in HRQOL in their mental component summary but this effect was not observed in women. This association between HRQOL with physical activity and adherence to the Mediterranean diet is not observed in the physical component summary in either men or women.

Conclusion: The conclusion addresses the need to change habits towards healthier dietary patterns and proposes a model for promoting physical activity in the university educational context.