P594 - ASSESSMENT OF DIETARY INTAKE OF COLLEGE STUDENTS IN THEUNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES LOS BAÑOS USING EMERGING DIETQUALITY ASSESSMENT TOOLS

P594

ASSESSMENT OF DIETARY INTAKE OF COLLEGE STUDENTS IN THE

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES LOS BAÑOS USING EMERGING DIET

QUALITY ASSESSMENT TOOLS

L. Atienza^1,*, R. de Arce¹

¹Institute of Human Nutrition and Food, University of the Philippines Los Banos, Los Banos, Philippines

Rationale: This study aimed to assess the dietary intake of college students in the Philippines using diet quality tools including Dietary Diversity Score (DDS), empirical Dietary Inflammatory Index (eDII), and Phytochemical Index (PI) and explore their association with nutritional status.

Methods: The study involved 384 college students aged 19–21 using a cross-sectional survey. Measurements collected included weight, height, WC, and hip circumference. Demographic, socio-economic, and health profiles were gathered, alongside dietary data (DDS, eDII, and PI), through online forms. BMI was calculated using the standard formula and categorized following Asia-Pacific classification. DDS was assessed using the FAO guidelines by Kennedy et al. (2011). The eDII followed Kanauchi et al. (2019), and PI was computed per McCarty (2004). Statistical analysis used IBM SPSS 20, applying Pearson’s correlation to examine the relationship between dietary indicators and variables such as health profile, BMI, WC, and WHR. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results: A significant negative correlation was noted between DDS and past medical conditions (p = 0.029), suggesting fewer health issues among students with more varied diets while positive correlation was found between eDII and previous illnesses (p = 0.030), indicating a potential link between inflammatory diets and health risks. A significant sex-based difference in PI scores was observed (p < 0.01), with females having higher intake of phytochemical-rich foods. While not statistically significant, higher household income was associated with greater dietary variety.

Conclusion: Taken collectively, the dietary quality assessment using emerging tools showed interesting findings that complement quantitative dietary assessments.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared