Background: Interventions aiming to reduce obesity and sedentary behaviors in young adults could be a feasible and effective approach to prevent cardiovascular diseases.
Aim: To evaluate the effect of a lifestyle-based intervention on reducing cardiovascular risk factors in university students.
Material and methods: Sixty university students aged 21 ± 1 years (n = 44 females) took part on a 17 weeks lifestyle intervention consisting in education about healthy lifestyles and physical training, during a curricular course about health promotion and healthy lifestyles. At baseline and at the end of the intervention participants completed a lifestyles questionnaire and provided fasting blood samples to quantify glucose and lipids profile.
Results: After the intervention significant reductions in the prevalence of hyperglycemia (-10.0%), high blood pressure (-16.7%) and physical inactivity (-26.7%) were observed. Moreover, a significant reduction in body weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides and an increase in HDL cholesterol were observed after intervention.
Conclusions: The implementation of an intervention to promote healthy lifestyles is an effective way of reducing cardiovascular risk factors in university students.