HáBITOS DE ALIMENTACIóN Y ACTIVIDAD FíSICA EN ESTUDIANTES UNIVERSITARIOS

during university life s tudents should consolidate healthy habits, presumably acquired during formal education, which should eventually be reflected in the professional adult life. this study aims to determine the influence of the universities on eating habits and physical activity of students. food habits and physical activity were evaluated in a convenience sample of 169 students of the pontificia universidad católica de valparaíso attending different courses. the students in this study had been attending the fundamental studies "autocuidado y vida saludable" (self-care and healthy life) given in 2010. two surveys were taken: quality of the food service (caseda) and quality of the service of university sports (casedu). they also completed basic anthropometric measurements, blood pressure tests, resting heart rate and blood glucose and triglycerides. the results showed that students have a poor perception of the quality offood service and although they indicated that there is a wide range of healthy and unhealthy foods; they tend to choose foods rich in carbohydrates andfats. this situation adds to their lack of physical activity data. it also shows that in women predominated high levels of triglyceride levels (161mg/dl) and in the male group predominated high blood pressure (132 mmhg). these facts underscore the need to take action at the university to enable students to acquire proper eating habits and provide a range ofphysical activities which will allow students to better use of their free time at college.