Factors Associated with Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and Dietary Habits among University Students in Lebanon
Table 1
Association between sociodemographic, eating habits, anthropometric characteristics, and adherence to the MD among university students in Lebanon, N = 303.
Variables
Adherence to the MD
value
Poor n (%)
Average n (%)
High n (%)
Gender
Females
66 (66.67)
100 (68.03)
44 (77.19)
0.349
Males
33 (33.33)
47 (31.97)
13 (22.81)
Age
Between 18 and 21 years
45 (45.45)
60 (41.67)
20 (35.09)
0.449
Between 21 and 25 years
54 (54.55)
84 (58.33)
37 (64.91)
Level of education
Undergraduate
62 (65.26)
90 (63.83)
28 (51.85)
0.353
Graduate
25 (26.32)
44 (31.21)
21 (38.89)
Postgraduate
8 (8.42)
7 (4.96)
5 (9.26)
GPA categories
Poor performance
4 (4.04)
6 (4.08)
1 (1.75)
0.019
Satisfactory performance
26 (26.26)
26 (17.69)
10 (17.54)
Good performance
52 (52.53)
82 (55.78)
22 (38.60)
Excellent performance
17 (17.17)
33 (22.45)
24 (45.61)
Employment status
Employed full-time
13 (13.13)
20 (13.61)
9 (15.79)
0.964
Employed part-time
14 (14.14)
23 (15.65)
11 (19.30)
Unemployed and currently looking for work
33 (33.33)
49 (33.33)
19 (33.33)
Unemployed and currently not looking for work
39 (39.40)
55 (37.41)
18 (31.58)
Average monthly income
Less than 675,000 LBP
56 (56.57)
85 (57.83)
29 (50.88)
0.797
Between 675,000 LBP and 1,500,000 LBP
28 (28.28)
38 (25.85)
14 (24.56)
Between 1,500,000 LBP and 3,000,000 LBP
11 (11.11)
15 (10.20)
9 (15.79)
More than 3,000,000 LBP
4 (4.04)
9 (6.12)
5 (8.77)
Skipping meals
Yes
32 (32.32)
28 (19.05)
3 (5.26)
<0.0001
No
9 (9.10)
42 (28.57)
28 (49.12)
Sometimes
58 (58.58)
77 (52.38)
26 (45.62)
Breakfast consumption
Always
15 (15.15)
60 (40.82)
41 (71.93)
<0.0001
Sometimes
74 (74.75)
81 (55.10)
16 (28.07)
Never
10 (10.10)
16 (10.88)
0 (0)
BMI categories
Underweight
6 (6.10)
8 (5.40)
5 (8.80)
0.806
Healthy weight
62 (62.60)
85 (57.80)
37 (64.90)
Overweight
22 (22.20)
39 (26.50)
12 (21.10)
Obese
9 (9.10)
15 (10.2)
3 (5.30)
value: Pearson’s Chi-square test and Fisher exact test with more than 20% of expected counts less than 5. value <0.05 is considered as significant. MD: Mediterranean Diet; GPA: Grade Point Average; BMI: Body Mass Index; LBP: Lebanese Pound.
