Evaluating Mediterranean diet adherence in university student populations: Does this dietary pattern affect students' academic performance and mental health?

Abstract

Summary Adherence to a healthy diet such as Mediterranean Diet (MD) may exert beneficial effects in university students, promoting their academic performance and quality of life, as well as their mental and physical health status. In this aspect, the present study aimed to critically analyze the current epidemiological evidence concerning MD adherence of university students' populations. PubMed database was comprehensively searched, using relative keywords. Students' dietary habits are moving away from MD guidelines towards unhealthy eating patterns, especially for those living away from home and even for students with a Mediterranean country origin. Most of the available studies have documented that poorer students' health status was associated with lower MD adherence. Higher MD adherence was correlated with lower depression risk, while higher perceived stress score with lower fruit and vegetables intake. The access of students to information and knowledge provided by courses and lectures did not effectively enhance their compliance to MD. Alarmingly enough, the majority of students, even from medical and nutritional university departments, showed inadequate knowledge on healthy eating habits. Due to the influence of diet on the quality of life and the mental and physical health of students, it is crucial to redirect research focus on this important aspect.

How Health Habits Influence the Physiological Response During a Physical Activity in Extreme Temperatures?

“…Students who adhere to a Mediterranean diet consider their health to be in better condition, have improved sleep and report low levels of stress [47]. These observations are supported by our results, as the participants in our study showed greater resistance to physical exercise than those who did not follow a Mediterranean diet, both in standard conditions and in more hostile environments.…”

“…Lifestyle and eating habits are directly associated with physical and mental health [47][48][49][50][51][52][53]. Due to the importance they have in the population, first responders are an important study population for assessing nutritional intervention and optimal physical activity in time and quality.…”

Impact of Physical Activity Practice and Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet in Relation to Multiple Intelligences among University Students

“…This factor of change makes it necessary to have a varied diet in foods such as the Mediterranean. It provides an improvement in living habits and provides the necessary nutrients [12,13]. The Mediterranean diet (MD) is rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, and cereals, with olive oil as the basic dietary fat [14].…”

The Effect of Eating Habits’ Quality on Scholastic Performance in Turkish Adolescents

“…In fact, adherence to a Mediterranean Diet (MD) was shown to be positively related with better academic success in college students. While a review of studies documented that poorer students health status was associated with lower MD adherence while inversely higher MD adherence was correlated with lower depression risk, whereas higher perceived stress score with lower fruit and vegetables intake [33]. Fruits and vegetables in particular, have been associated with a plethora of benefits attributed to their surplus of a rather wide variety of bioactive compounds [33,34].…”