BackgroundUniversity represents a key transition into adulthood for many adolescents but there are associated concerns about health and behaviours. One important aspect relates to diet and there is emerging evidence that university students may consume poor quality diets, with potential implications for body weight and long-term health. This research aimed to characterise dietary patterns of university students in the UK and their sociodemographic and lifestyle antecedents.MethodsAn online, cross-sectional survey was undertaken with a convenience sample of 1448 university students from five UK universities (King’s College London, Universities of St Andrews, Southampton and Sheffield, and Ulster University). The survey comprised a validated food frequency questionnaire alongside lifestyle and sociodemographic questions. Dietary patterns were generated from food frequency intake data using principal components analysis. Nutrient intakes were estimated to characterise the nutrient profile of each dietary pattern. Associations with sociodemographic variables were assessed through general linear modelling.ResultsDietary analyses revealed four major dietary patterns: ‘vegetarian’; ‘snacking’; ‘health-conscious’; and ‘convenience, red meat & alcohol’. The ‘health-conscious’ pattern had the most favourable micronutrient profile. Students’ gender, age, year of study, geographical location and cooking ability were associated with differences in pattern behaviour. Female students favoured the ‘vegetarian’ pattern, whilst male students preferred the ‘convenience, red meat & alcohol’ pattern. Less healthful dietary patterns were positively associated with lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, low physical activity and take-away consumption. The health-conscious pattern had greatest nutrient density. The ‘convenience, red meat & alcohol’ pattern was associated with higher weekly food spending; this pattern was also identified most consistently across universities. Students reporting greater cooking ability tended towards the ‘vegetarian’ and ‘health-conscious’ patterns.ConclusionsFood intake varied amongst university students. A substantial proportion of students followed health-promoting diets, which had good nutrient profiles obviating a need for dietary intervention. However, some students consumed poor diets, incurred greater food costs and practised unfavourable lifestyle behaviours, which may have long-term health effects. University policy to improve students’ diets should incorporate efforts to promote student engagement in cooking and food preparation, and increased availability of low cost healthier food items.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12937-018-0398-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Further studies are needed to provide greater understanding of the role of micronutrient status in iodine nutrition and thyroid function to ascertain the public health implications for populations worldwide.

The method of triads was applied using these three measurements to determine the overall validity of the FFQ. Results: Vitamin D intakes from 4d-WFR ranged between 0.42 and 31.65 lg day À1 , whereas intakes determined from the FFQ ranged from

Myopia was associated with smaller areas of CUVAF indicative of less cumulative ultraviolet-B exposure. These findings suggest that CUVAF measures are a useful, non-invasive biomarker of the time spent outdoors in adults in northern hemisphere populations.

CUVAF area and intensity were not associated with clinical measures of dry eye. Greater CUVAF area and intensity were associated with wearing sunglasses less frequently and spending more time outdoors. If sunglass wear is accounted for, CUVAF may be a useful biomarker of time spent outdoors in future myopia studies.