The "Sportello Salute Giovani" project: Habits , lifestyles, risk behaviours of Italian University students and future perspectives. Preface.

INTRODUCTION There is ample evidence that certain habits, lifestyles and habitual or occasional behaviours have the potential of determining direct and/or indirect impact on health and on physical and mental wellbeing. For example, a healthy diet, regular and appropriate levels of physical activity, moderate alcohol consumption, and the abstinence from illegal drugs are considered healthy lifestyles that can predispose an individual to better health conditions. On the other hand, irregular eating behaviours, sedentary lifestyle, immoderate habits, and early and/or promiscuous sexual activity, are behaviours that can determine risks for an individual’s health and life. Risk behaviours can be defined as any activity that can cause potential negative consequences to an individual’s health and life, even if these consequences are to some degree counterbalanced by perceived positive consequences [1]. Even though risk behaviours are present in all age groups, their presence increases within the young adult population. In fact, in the phase of life ranging from 18-30 years of age there are important sources of stress that can favour the development of risk behaviours [2]. This age group represents the period of time in which young adults usually leave their primary social context (family, school, etc.) to confront themselves for the first time with the working world or with the university environment. For many, this involves moving away from home and beginning a life “outside the home” that must be managed autonomously and that presents new requirements and relational dynamics. Unlike the adolescent period, which has been the object of many studies on a international [3] and national [4] level, the age range from 18-30 years of age currently is not adequately studied in Italy. The first steps towards identifying targeted and effective preventive strategies is to quantify and qualify the incidence of risk behaviour and to evaluate the young adults’ awareness towards the potential harms deriving from certain habits and lifestyles. The “Sportello Salute Giovani” project (“Youth Health Information Desk”) was created exactly with the intention of studying the lifestyles, habits and risk behaviours of Italian university students.