Table 5.
Characteristics of university students in the study sample according to the three identified dietary patterns.
| Variables | Vegetarian/low | Mixed | Westernized | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) mean (SD) | 20.51 (1.95) | 20.31 (1.78) | 20.33 (1.78) | 0.066 |
| Weight (kg) mean (SD) | 64.39 (14.39) | 64.79 (14.91) | 66.95 (16.88) | 0.001a |
| Height (cm) mean (SD) | 168.06 (9.25) | 169.37 (9.96) | 170.73 (9.94) | <0.001b |
| BMI (kg/m2) mean (SD) | 22.67 (4.08) | 22.50 (4.58) | 22.81 (4.51) | 0.281 |
| BMI classes N (%) | ||||
| Underweight (<18.5 kg/m2) | 60 (8.4%) | 105 (10.4%) | 97 (9.1%) | 0.743 |
| Normal (18.5–24.9 kg/m2) | 507 (70.8%) | 709 (70.2%) | 738 (69.3%) | |
| Overweight (25–29.9 kg/m2) | 116 (16.2%) | 156 (15.4%) | 180 (16.9%) | |
| Obese (≥30 kg/m2) | 33 (4.6%) | 40 (4.0%) | 50 (4.7%) | |
| Gender N (%) | ||||
| Male | 182 (29.3%) | 414 (36.8%) | 504 (45.2%) | <0.001 |
| Female | 440 (70.7%) | 712 (63.2%) | 610 (54.8%) | |
| Income level quartile N (%) | ||||
| Quartile 1 | 124 (23.0%) | 256 (25.8%) | 232 (23.7%) | 0.029 |
| Quartile 2 | 135 (25.0%) | 279 (28.1%) | 240 (24.5%) | |
| Quartile 3 | 110 (20.4%) | 218 (21.9%) | 241 (24.6%) | |
| Quartile 4 | 170 (31.5%) | 241 (24.2%) | 266 (27.2%) | |
| University type N (%) | ||||
| Public | 333 (53.4%) | 667 (59.2%) | 590 (53.0%) | 0.006 |
| Private | 291 (46.6%) | 460 (40.8%) | 524 (47.0%) | |
| Physical activity levelc N (%) | ||||
| No sports at all | 204 (35.4%) | 372 (36.4%) | 418 (40.0%) | 0.004 |
| Low (≤624) | 111 (19.3%) | 192 (18.8%) | 152 (14.5%) | |
| Moderate (624–1200) | 98 (17.0%) | 164 (16.0%) | 132 (12.6%) | |
| High (1200–2160) | 91 (15.8%) | 157 (15.3%) | 169 (16.2%) | |
| Highest (>2160) | 72 (12.5%) | 138 (13.5%) | 175 (16.7%) |
aWesternized diet is significantly different from vegetarian diet and from mixed diet with post hoc Bonferoni test.
bSignificant difference between all three diet types with post hoc Bonferoni test.
cCalculated according to quartiles of Metabolic Equivalent (MET) multiplied by the weekly frequency and duration of physical activity.