Background: Appropriate nutrition in humans is one of the most important factors affecting normal development, nutritional status and keeping healthy. University students can be overburdened with responsibilities arising from their studies which may result in abnormal diet/nutrition and decrease their levels of physical activity.
Objective: To determine and assess nutrition and eating habits for selected female students studying nutrition at the Siedlce University of Natural Sciences & Humanities (UPH), compared with young people from other academic centres also studying nutrition and having a similar education profile.
Material and methods: A diagnostic survey was undertaken anonymously on 100 female student subjects using a proprietary questionnaire. Students were undergraduates at the UPH during their 2nd and 3rd year.
Results: Dietetics students considered that the practical application of proper nutrition principles is very important. Nevertheless, 44% assessed themselves to follow abnormal diets; 58% declared they ate whole grains frequently whereas 58% and 65% respectively consumed fruit and vegetables daily. Dietary irregularities were identified, particularly in how often fish was eaten, where 46% either never ate fish or did so only occasionally. Subjects preferred lean cuts of poultry meat (65%), and the most common cooking practice was frying (52%).
Conclusions: Subjects did not follow dietary recommendations, although responses varied in the different academic centres. Despite learning from their studies about normal nutritional requirements it seems that, to large degree, students follow eating habits acquired during their childhoods in the home.