Consumo de alimentos ultraprocesados y su relación con el estilo de vida en estudiantes universitarios de la Ciudad de Cuenca, diciembre 2021 - marzo 2022

Introduction: in low-income countries, the consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) has increased, in the same way, university students have an unhealthy diet and these foods are proving to be an attractive option for this population. In the long term, this can trigger health risks caused by various factors. Objectives: to determine the prevalence of ultra-processed food consumption and its relationship with lifestyle in university students in the city of Cuenca, 2021-2022. Methods: Cross-sectional analytical study on a sample of 381 university students from Cuenca, with prior informed consent. The ENSANUT 2012 processed food consumption questionnaire was acquired according to the NOVA list, Ecuador. For the lifestyle of university students, the CEVJU-R questionnaire was applied. The analysis of the information was carried out in the SPSS V-21 software, for the sociodemographic variables, frequency and percentage tables were obtained, for the dependent and independent variables, association measures were taken, prevalence ratio with 95% CI and X2 with p value. < 0.05 for statistical significance. Results: The prevalence of UPF consumption was 99.7%. The exercise and physical activity dimension was associated with gender. The dimension of leisure time with the consumption of fats, consumption of sugars and derivatives, consumption of alcoholic beverages, and the dimension of the perceived emotional state with the consumption of sugars and derivatives. Conclusion: there is a high prevalence of UPF consumption in the study population and this was related to the lifestyle of university students.