ABSTRACT
Aim: In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the level of knowledge of university students studying in the field of health in sustainable nutrition and environment and their adherence with the Mediterranean diet.
Methods: This study was conducted in a cross-sectional type. It was conducted on 687 students studying at the Faculty of Medicine (n=413) and the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics (n=274) in AprilMay 2019. In the research, sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire form, sustainable nutrition and environmental relationship questionnaire form and Mediterranean diet adherence screener were used. In the analysis of the data, chi-square test, Mann Whitney-U test, Kruskall-Wallis test were used. p<0,05 was accepted significant.
Results: The rate of hearing of Nutrition and Dietetics students on the term of sustainable nutrition was higher than that of Medical students (p<0,001). It was determined that 95,2% of the participants did not receive education on sustainable nutrition. It was determined that students of both departments dealt with the concept of sustainable nutrition at least with its ecological dimension (Medicine: 27,8%; Nutrition and Dietetics: 25,5%). Adherence of Nutrition and Dietetics students with Mediterranean diet was found to be significantly higher than that of medical students (p<0,001).
Conclusion: It has been determined that more than half of the students had not heard of the concept of sustainable nutrition before. It was determined that the students dealt with sustainable nutrition with the environmental dimension at the lowest rate. It was found that the participants had a low adherence to the Mediterranean diet.
Key words: Mediterranean diet, Diet, Environment, Sustainability.