Students’ dietary style, well-being, and health – implications for the future

Background
The health of university students largely depends on their daily dietary choices, with their nutritional knowledge influencing diet quality and overall well-being. The study period often encourages irregular eating habits, which may lead to adverse health effects. This research fills a gap in comparative nutritional analyses of Polish students, providing valuable insights for Central and Eastern European medical communities and practical implications for health education.

Objectives
The study aimed to evaluate nutritional habits and knowledge levels, as well as their relationship with selected demographic and lifestyle factors, among medical and non-medical university students in Poland.

Material and methods
A cross-sectional observational study was conducted from November 2024 to February 2025 with 128 Polish university students (64 medical and 64 non-medical). Data were collected via a 55-question self-administered online survey covering dietary habits, processed food consumption, stimulant drink intake, supplementation, and a 25-question nutritional knowledge test. Statistical analysis used chi-square and Student’s t-Tests with significance set at α < 0.05.

Results
Age, weight, height, and BMI were similar between groups. Daily breakfast was consumed by 50.0% of medical and 57.81% of non-medical students. Non-medical students more frequently ate processed foods (40.63% vs 25.0%) and preferred sweets as snacks (70.61% vs 65.63%). Medical students scored higher on the nutritional knowledge test (16.44 vs 14.64 points).

Conclusions
Medical students demonstrated better nutritional knowledge and differed in snack choices compared to non-medical students. Other dietary habits were similar. These findings highlight the need to enhance nutrition education, particularly for non-medical students.