The nutritional status analysis in physical education students, associated with eating habits and level of physical activity

Introduction: numerous studies show that the college-aged student modifies their eating habits and levels of physical activity and, consequently, their Body Mass Index (BMI) exceeds healthy values (?25). General objective: to analyze the nutritional status in students of two Physical Education Teaching training Institutes, located in Cordoba, Argentina, and their possible association with eating behaviours and level of physical activity. Method: observational, cross-sectional and descriptive study. 134 students were studied.To assess nutritional status, the MBI was measured. To investigate about food selection and habits which accompanied the ingestion, a survey was used based on the recommendations from the Food Guidelines for the Argentine Population. To estimate energy expenditure by physical activity, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used, in short format, in the Spanish version. Results: the nutritional status of the study population showed, in general, a higher prevalence with healthy weight (normal weight). As regards eating habits, for food selection as well as for eating habits, greater proportions of evaluated students showed a moderately healthy and healthy selection, respectively. In reference to the level of physical activity, both genres showed, in a larger proportion, a high level of physical activity. For both cases, the IMC resulted within healthy values. Conclusion: it can be assumed that the healthy nutritional status of the study population is due to their mostly healthy eating habits, and mainly to their high level of physical activity