TY - JOUR
T1 - Perceived stress and high fat intake
T2 - A study in a sample of undergraduate students
AU - Jair Vidal, E.
AU - Alvarez, Daily
AU - Martinez-Velarde, Dalia
AU - Vidal-Damas, Lorena
AU - Yuncar-Rojas, Kelly A.
AU - Julca-Malca, Alesia
AU - Bernabe-Ortiz, Antonio
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Vidal et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2018/3
Y1 - 2018/3
N2 - Objectives Different studies have reported the association between perceived stress and unhealthy diet choices. We aimed to determine whether there is a relationship between perceived stress and fat intake among undergraduate medical students. Methods/Principal findings A cross-sectional study was performed including first-year medical students. The outcome of interest was the self-report of fat intake assessed using the Block Screening Questionnaire for Fat Intake (high vs. low intake), whereas the exposure was perceived stress (low/ normal vs. high levels). The prevalence of high fat intake was estimated and the association of interest was determined using prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Models were created utilizing Poisson regression with robust standard errors. Data from 523 students were analyzed, 52.0% female, mean age 19.0 (SD 1.7) years. The prevalence of high fat intake was 42.4% (CI: 38.2%–46.7%). In multivariate model and compared with those with lowest levels of stress, those in the middle (PR = 1.59; 95%CI: 1.20–2.12) and highest (PR = 1.92; 95%CI: 1.46–2.53) categories of perceived stress had greater prevalence of fat intake. Gender was an effect modifier of this association (p = 0.008). Conclusions Greater levels of perceived stress were associated with higher fat intake, and this association was stronger among males. More than 40% of students reported having high fat consumption. Our results suggest the need to implement strategies that promote decreased fat intake.
AB - Objectives Different studies have reported the association between perceived stress and unhealthy diet choices. We aimed to determine whether there is a relationship between perceived stress and fat intake among undergraduate medical students. Methods/Principal findings A cross-sectional study was performed including first-year medical students. The outcome of interest was the self-report of fat intake assessed using the Block Screening Questionnaire for Fat Intake (high vs. low intake), whereas the exposure was perceived stress (low/ normal vs. high levels). The prevalence of high fat intake was estimated and the association of interest was determined using prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Models were created utilizing Poisson regression with robust standard errors. Data from 523 students were analyzed, 52.0% female, mean age 19.0 (SD 1.7) years. The prevalence of high fat intake was 42.4% (CI: 38.2%–46.7%). In multivariate model and compared with those with lowest levels of stress, those in the middle (PR = 1.59; 95%CI: 1.20–2.12) and highest (PR = 1.92; 95%CI: 1.46–2.53) categories of perceived stress had greater prevalence of fat intake. Gender was an effect modifier of this association (p = 0.008). Conclusions Greater levels of perceived stress were associated with higher fat intake, and this association was stronger among males. More than 40% of students reported having high fat consumption. Our results suggest the need to implement strategies that promote decreased fat intake.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85043793426&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0192827
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0192827
M3 - Artículo
C2 - 29522535
AN - SCOPUS:85043793426
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 13
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 3
M1 - e0192827
ER -