Preferences and frequency of processed meat products consumption by university students at Medellin, Colombia

Abstract

Introduction: Processed meat consumption has been increasing in college students in recent years, becoming a risk factor in health alimentary habits, so identifying the preferences and frequency of consumption of these products to establish intervention strategies is a matter of interest for researchers in health and nutrition areas.

Material and Methods: Sample size was 400 students, randomly selected according to the factors: gender, socioeconomic status and type of university (public or private), considering a 95% confidence interval and a 5% maximum permissible error. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), comparison analysis Z method.

Results: Higher processed meat consumption in colleges students in men (p=0.0139), low socioeconomic status (p=0.0457) and public universities (p=0.0311) was found.

Conclusions: Processed meat consumption in college students is high, especially in men, so it is necessary to implement educational programs on healthy eating habits.