Eating habits and nutritional status of employees of a private university in Lima-Peru, through a health program, 2022

Abstract

Food habits, by their nature and development, influence the entire feeding process, conditioned by physiological, socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental factors. These eating habits can be either healthy or unhealthy and impact our nutritional status. This nutritional status can be evaluated through four methods: anthropometric, biochemical, clinical, and dietary, which help identify individuals with nutritional imbalances, whether due to deficiencies such as 'malnutrition' or excesses such as obesity. Additionally, they help identify individuals at risk of developing nutrition-related diseases and implement measures to improve both individual and societal health through preventive actions. At a global level, the prevalence of obesity—abnormal or excessive fat accumulation harmful to health—has increased, leading the World Health Organization (WHO) to designate it as the epidemic of the 21st century. In this context, an objective will be established to address the problem by determining the relationship between the proposed variables. Objective: To determine the relationship between eating habits and the nutritional status of employees at a private university in Lima, Peru, through a health program. Materials and Methods: The research will follow a quantitative, experimental, descriptive, and correlational approach, with a cross-sectional nature. The study population and sample (census sample) will consist of 100 employees. The technique used will be a survey, and the measurement instrument will be a questionnaire developed by the researcher, referencing eating habits. It consists of questions structured according to the operationalization matrix of the variables, including dimensions and their respective indicators. Results: After fieldwork and special considerations in the data collection process, favorable findings were obtained regarding the relationship between the variables. It was observed that there is a moderate relationship between 'Eating Habits' and 'Nutritional Status.' If eating habits improve, individuals' nutritional status and overall health also improve. However, negative or unhealthy eating habits, associated with poor dietary practices, negatively affect individuals' nutritional status and overall health. Conclusion: Based on the results, it is determined that for individuals to achieve proper and healthy nutritional status, they must adopt better eating habits as part of their dietary culture to benefit their physical and mental health.

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo Evaluar el nivel de consumo y conocimiento de los productos industrializados con octógonos que tienen los estudiantes de una Universidad Privada en Lima en tiempos de pandemia, para lo cual se empleó una metodología deductiva bajo un enfoque cuantitativo de tipo descriptivo- no experimental transversal, dirigido a una muestra de 220 estudiantes pertenecientes a la Facultad de Nutrición, los cuales fueron seleccionados mediante un muestreo por conveniencia. Se empleó como instrumento de recolección de datos un cuestionario compuesto por 15 preguntas que permitieron determinar el nivel de consumo y conocimiento de alimentos procesados en tiempos de pandemia, lo cual arrojó como resultados que alrededor del 60% de los estudiantes consumen productos industrializados y procesados sin considerar las etiquetas nutricionales de advertencia; por otro lado, alrededor del 63.01% no tiene una comprensión clara del significado de los octógonos nutricionales lo que dificulta la privatización del consumo por parte de los consumidores, siendo un hábito constante el consumo de estos alimentos sin tomar en cuenta las repercusiones para la salud ni las etiquetas correspondientes; concluyendo así que hace falta profundizar la educación nutricional en etapas de la infancia temprana para crear hábitos saludables de consumo e identificación de productos procesados para la salud.