Diet diversity and associated factors among university students

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate diet diversity, dietary patterns, and their associated factors among university students. Design/methodology/approach Following informed consent and enrolment in the study, participants completed a questionnaire comprising a diet diversity questionnaire, physical activity behaviours, anthropometric measures and socio-demographic items. Diet diversity was evaluated using four indicators from the Diet Quality Questionnaire (DQQ) namely; Food Group Diversity (FGD), NCD-protect, NCD-risk, and Global Recommended Dietary (GRD) scores. Participation was voluntary. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify dietary patterns based on food items consumed. The study was approved by the University’s Ethics Committee. Findings PCA identified six dietary patterns that accounted for 53.5% of foods consumed. These were “Foods High in Salt, Sugar and Fats (HSSF) (12.5%); “Traditional” (10.8%); “Pescatarian” (8.3%); “Meat-based/Animal protein” (7.5%); “Typical” (7.5%); “Pollotarian” (7.1%). Dietary patterns were highly significantly associated with diet diversity scores. In addition, FGD was positively associated with time spent in vigorous physical activity (p < 0.001), while the NCD-Risk score was significantly inversely associated with the GRD score. Originality/value This paper provides additional insights into dietary practices and their correlates among tertiary-level students. The consistently significant associations between diet diversity scores and lifestyle practices may serve as useful proxies for identifying unhealthy dietary behaviours and physical activity levels in this population.