Food insecurity and Mediterranean diet adherence among Greek university students.

AIM: To assess Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence and food insecurity (FI) among university students in Greece.

METHODS AND RESULTS: A non-probability sample of 236 students was recruited from Athens and Thessaloniki during 2016. FI was assessed with the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale and MD adherence with the MEDAS questionnaire. Mean MEDAS score of the sample was 6.4 ± 1.9, with women demonstrating greater MD adherence compared to men (p = 0.016) and Dietetics students exhibiting increased score compared to the rest (p ≤ 0.001). A low proportion of participants were food-secure (17.8%), 45.3% were severely food-insecure, 22.0% experienced moderate FI and the remaining 14.8% had low FI. Participants studying in the city they grew up exhibited lower FI compared to those studying in other cities (p = 0.009), while, additionally, a trend was noted for increased FI among students with an unemployed family member (p = 0.05). Students working night shifts had lower MD adherence and increased FI compared to the rest (p = 0.004 and p = 0.003, respectively). The same pattern was observed among participants who smoked (p = 0.003 for MD adherence and p = 0.009 for FI, respectively). Multivariate regression analyses did not reveal any connections between FI categories, waist circumference or BMI, but showed an inverse relationship between severe FI and MD adherence.

CONCLUSIONS: The majority of the surveyed university students from Greece demonstrate some degree of FI, with a great proportion being severely food-insecure. Increased FI is inversely associated with MD adherence.