Socioeconomic level of university students and its relationship with healthy eating.

Abstract

Studying the consumption of healthy foods poses an important measurement challenge due to the influence of social, economic and cultural factors. The objective of the study was to analyze the incidence of socioeconomic level on the consumption of healthy foods in university students. Social strata were established according to what was suggested by the World Bank, the consumption of healthy foods was stratified using scales from the Ministry of Public Health and a correlation analysis was carried out with the weighted scores. It was verified that the educational level of the head of household is secondary, with an average income lower than the basic basket, the house is their own and they have a laptop with internet. Among vegetable foods, the consumption of legumes and vegetables stands out and the low consumption of fruits is striking; Therefore, they consume rice, a tuber and one to two meats per week. University households belong to the vulnerable and poor socioeconomic group in which the consumption of healthy foods qualifies as a high risk situation. There is a significant direct relationship between the socioeconomic level and the consumption of healthy foods, that is, the higher the socioeconomic level, the higher the consumption of healthy foods.

Keywords:

Social class, home, unified salary, healthy food.

 RESUMEN

Estudiar el consumo de alimentos saludables plantea un importante reto de medición por la influencia de factores sociales, económicos y culturales. El objetivo del estudio fue analizar la incidencia del nivel socioeconómico sobre el consumo de alimentos saludables en estudiantes universitarios. Fueron establecidos estratos sociales acorde a lo sugerido por el Banco Mundial, se estratificó el consumo de alimentos saludables mediante escalas del Ministerio de Salud Pública y con los puntajes ponderados se realizó un análisis de correlación. Se verificó que el nivel educativo del jefe de hogar es el secundario, con ingresos promedios menores al de la canasta básica, la vivienda es propia y disponen de computador portátil con internet. Entre los alimentos vegetales destaca el consumo de legumbres y hortalizas y llama la atención el bajo consumo de frutas; igualmente, consumen arroz, un tubérculo y de una a dos carnes por semana. Los hogares de universitarios pertenecen al grupo socioeconómico de vulnerable y pobre en la que el consumo de alimentos saludables califica a una alta situación de riesgo. Existe una relación significativa directa entre el nivel socioeconómico y el consumo de alimentos saludables, es decir, a mayor nivel socioeconómico mayor consumo de alimentos saludables.

Palabras clave:

Clase social, hogar, salario unificado, alimentos saludables