University students in Central Italy: do they follow proper dietary habits?

Background: Eating a healthy diet is acknowledged as one of the main factors in preventing malnutrition and non-communicable diseases. As young students represent a group more prone to poor dietary habits, the aim of this study was to analyse the dietary habits of a group of undergraduate students attending university in a city of central Italy, Siena.

Methods: 4,700 students were invited to participate in a cross-sectional study completing an online self-administered questionnaire about their food habits.