Nutritional Status in University Students: Links to Physical Activity and Body Composition

Objective: This study aimed to examine the associations between dietary consumption patterns, physical activity level, and body composition among students of biomedical sciences, and to determine whether dietary consumption patterns and body composition differed according to physical activity level. Methods: A cross-sectional study involved 187 ungraduated university students. The study was conducted among undergraduate physiotherapy students at University North, Varaždin, Croatia, with all measurements performed in the Physiotherapy Laboratory of the Department of Physiotherapy. Assessment of body composition was carried out using Body Composition Analyzer Tanita MC 780, nutritional status using the Food Frequency Questionnaire, and the physical activity using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-long version. Results: The frequency of consumption of each category of food did not significantly differ between participants, with low, moderate and high levels of physical activity. Weak positive correlations were observed between the frequency of milk and milk product consumption and muscle mass (r = 0.153), and between sugar consumption and body fat (r = 0.189). No statistically significant differences were observed in dietary consumption patterns across physical activity levels or in body composition across physical activity groups. Conclusions: The findings provide descriptive information on dietary patterns, physical activity, and body composition among biomedical sciences students and may help identify areas for future health-promotion interventions and comparative studies in university populations.