Dietary patterns among nutrition students at a public university in Brazil Patrón alimentario de estudiantes de nutrición de una universidad pública de Brazil

INTRODUCTION Entry to university brings new responsibilities to students in regards to food, housing and financial management (1). Within this context, the risk factors of an inappropriate lifestyle, represented by a sedentary lifestyle, psychosocial factors and the high demands of academia can contribute to the adoption of nutritionally unbalanced eating habits. Therefore, the risk of the development of chronic, non-communicable diseases increases (2, 3). On the other hand, enrolling in the course of nutrition provides access to information on nutritionally balanced eating habits. Thus, it is assumed that the knowledge acquired by the students of this course can positively influence the dietary patterns. This is defined as a set or group of foods normally consumed by individuals or populations (4). The identification of the eating patterns of the students is an important strategy for promoting balanced nutrition during the phase of graduation. However, there are still very Dietary patterns among nutrition students at a public university in Brazil