Unhealthy habits of university students could lead to future health problems – CTV
June 10, 2023
A steady diet of late night pizza, binge-drinking and sugary breakfast cereals is the norm for many post-secondary students, and new research suggests the lifestyle can cause harm that goes beyond gaining the proverbial freshman 15.
A recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal Preventative Medicine Reports by a group of international researchers has found post-secondary students with unhealthy eating habits can go on to suffer from disease and mental health issues for years to come.
The research team examined nearly 12,000 medical students from 31 universities across China. 50.1 per cent of study participants had unhealthy eating habits—including eating sweets, fatty foods and overeating calories—while 24.9 per cent self-reported having chronic or infectious disease, or mental disorders.
Researchers said the study sheds some light on how unhealthy eating habits are associated with diseases and mental disorders, and “offers further support for a possible causal linkage.”
