Adherence to a mediterranean diet and its relantionship to body mass index in Galician university

The Mediterranean diet (MD) is probably one of the healthiest dietary patterns. This diet is characterised by a diet profile based foods typical of the Medite rranean region and in your lifestyle. The aim of this study was to determine the degree of adherence to the MD in the Galician university diet and their relationship the body mass index (BMI). The participants were students of University of Vigo. We measured the height and weight of each participant and BMI was calculated. To determine the adherence to the MD KidMed test was used. A total of 266 university participate (67.7% female and 32.3% male) aged 18 to 25 years. Majority of students (79-83%) were normal weight, but we found a relatively large percentage of overweight children (18.6%) and low prevalence of obesity in both sexes (2,3%). The mean KidMed score was 6.35 +/- 2.20 and these index did not differ between girls and boys. Only 33% of the participants had a high KidMed score. Underweight girls and normal weight boys presented the highest adherence. In conclusion, it was evidenced need to change the eating habits of this population towards healthier patterns.