PD592 - WEIGHT GAIN IN FEMALE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS DID NOT DIFFER BETWEEN PLANT-FORWARD DIETARY PATTERNS BUT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH ULTRA-PROCESSED FOOD INTAKE

PD592

WEIGHT GAIN IN FEMALE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS DID NOT DIFFER BETWEEN PLANT-FORWARD DIETARY PATTERNS BUT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH ULTRA-PROCESSED FOOD INTAKE

S. Fedde^1,*, C. Flender¹, F. A. Gottschalk¹, M. J. Müller¹, A. Bosy-Westphal¹

¹Human Nutrition, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany

Rationale: Young adults in their first year of university represent a high-risk group for weight gain. This risk may vary according to dietary patterns, particularly adherence to plant-forward diets, which are popular in this age group. Lower ultra-processed food (UPF) intake within such patterns may attenuate weight gain.

Methods: Data from 94 female first-year students (19.9 ±1.4 years; BMI 22.0 ±3.3 kg/m²; 21 vegans, 47 vegetarians, 26 omnivores) with measurements at baseline and after one year were included. Energy balance (EB) was estimated from changes in body composition (bioelectrical impedance analysis) using established coefficients (fat mass: 13.1 kcal/g gain, 9.3 kcal/g loss; fat-free mass: 2.2 kcal/g gain, 1.1 kcal/g loss). Food intake, including detailed information on branded food products, was assessed using 3-day dietary records and subsequently classified according to NOVA.

Results: Participants gained 1.0 ±3.5 kg on average (p = 0.005), with a mean positive EB of 10,293 ±33,337 kcal/year and no differences between dietary patterns (all p > 0.05). Weight changes ranged from −9.2 to +15.8 kg. 59% showed a positive EB. UPF intake contributed to 48.5% of daily energy intake, ranging from 14 to 85%, and was modestly associated with EB (r = 0.240, p = 0.02), without differences between dietary groups.

Conclusion: Weight gain in female first-year students was independent of dietary pattern. However, higher UPF intake was modestly associated with a more positive energy balance irrespective of plant-forward dietary pattern, indicating that this association was consistent across all groups.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared