ASSESSMENT OF DIETARY HABITS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON SERUM LIPID PROFILE AMONG YONG ADULTS FROM PALESTINE

Introduction: Hyperlipidemia increases the risk of many diseases including coronary artery disease and atherosclerosis. Nutritional knowledge may act as a deterrent against unhealthy nutrition trend which is strongly associated with hyperlipidemia. We aim to evaluate the dietary habits and their influence on serum lipid profiles among university students. Methods: This study was an analytical descriptive design that started in June and finished in September 2018. A total of 200 students (100 males and 100 females), aged between 18-22 years were evaluated. Sociodemographic data and health-related data situations, lifestyle practices, and eating habits of the study population were reported by an interview questionnaire. The biochemical evaluation for total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), and Triglycerides (TG) was carried out. A significant result means that the P-value for the hypothesis tests was less than 0.05 at confidence intervals 95%. Results: Male students were more likely to be healthier eating habits compared to female students in terms of regular breakfast intake, regular lunch intake, and regular dinner intake. The majority of students (67.5%) eat two to three meals per day. Most students (60.0%) thought that eating meats, vegetables and other variety of foods are the keys to point of a balanced diet. On the other hand, the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia was significantly higher in male students than females and, the prevalence of elevated LDL was higher in female students than males. Conclusion: Despite the students having some unhealthy eating habits, however, their eating habits were non significantly associated with a higher prevalence of the three hyperlipidemias