Dietary sources and intake of solid fats and added sugars among college students

Objective: To identify the foods that most contributed to energy and solid fats and added sugars (SoFAS) intake in university students’ diet and estimate their contribution to total energy consumption. Methods: Cross-sectional study with food intake assessed using a 24-hour dietary recall among freshmen university students of 2016, 2017, and 2018, from a public university in the Midwest Region of Brazil. The caloric participation of SoFAS and the food groups contribution to total energy and SoFAS intake were estimated. The analyses were stratified according to gender and economic class. Results: The total energy intake from SoFAS was 30% among the 1,063 evaluated students. The intake of saturated fat was higher among students of higher economic classes (12.4%) than those of the lower classes (11.0%). The top source of total energy were beef (12.2%), rice (7.7%), and beans/other legumes (6.9 %); of SoFAS were: sweets/desserts (14.7%), juices (11.6%), beef (9.8%), and soft drinks (9.7%). Conclusion: The intake of SoFAS was higher than the recommended limit, with a high contribution of sweetened drinks and ultra-processed foods.