Vegetarian diets in first year university students

Abstract

There has been an increase in the popularity of vegetarian diets, especially among adolescents and young adults. These diets seem to be healthy and balanced, but the recommendations are controversial regarding potential nutritional deficits.

Objective: To identify the frequency and types of vegetarian diet used, their motivation, and sources of information.

Patients and Method: Cross-sectional analytical study in freshmen students from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PUC). Through an online survey, we collected demographic information and diet characterization of those who considered themselves as vegetarians. Variables were analyzed using IDM SPSS Statistics® software and in Excel® spreadsheet in a quantitative way.

Results: 152 students answered the survey (15.2% of the sample) and, out of these, 49.4% were vegetarian. 32.4% started this eating pattern between the ages 12 and 18 and among their most frequent motivations were environmentalists (91.9%) and animalists (72.9%). 52.9% of vegetarians take vitamin B 12 supplementation but only 15.9% reported having this deficiency. 75.7% obtain information related to vegetarian diets through digital media.

Conclusion: In the surveys answered, we found a high percentage of vegetarian students, therefore, health professionals need to be trained in this area to assure adequate nutritional education, supplementation if necessary, and follow-up.