Dietary Patterns, Food-Group Profiles, and Nutritional Characteristics in a Diverse Cohort of Young Adults Attending a UK University (2016)
4 affiliations
- 1Area of Legal and Forensic Medicine, Department of Surgery, Medical and Social Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcalá, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona, Km. 33.6, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Spain
- 2Leicester School of Allied Health Sciences, De Montfort University, Leicester LE1 9BH, UK
- 3Scientific Computation Research Institute (SCRIUR), University of La Rioja, 26006 Logroño, Spain
- 4Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Alcalá, Crta. Madrid-Barcelona Km. 33.6, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Spain
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Whole-diet patterns in geographically diverse university populations remain insufficiently characterised. We examined food-group consumption and dietary patterns according to sex and geographical background in a historical UK university cohort. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis included 111 students assessed at De Montfort University, Leicester, in early 2016. Habitual intake was assessed using an expanded, adapted EPIC-Norfolk food-frequency questionnaire. Fifteen food groups were evaluated using principal component analysis after log1p transformation and standardisation; between-group comparisons were adjusted for relevant covariates and subjected to Benjamini–Hochberg false-discovery-rate correction. Results: The participants had a mean age of 20.4 ± 1.2 years, and 70.3% were female. Three patterns—Plant-rich, Animal-source foods, and Energy-dense/discretionary—explained 46.25% of the variance, compared with 35.24% for the two-component alternative. Parallel analysis supported retention of three components; bootstrap results favoured their overall reproducibility but indicated substantial uncertainty in individual food-group loadings. Males had lower adjusted Plant-rich scores than females (−0.43 SD, 95% CI −0.76 to −0.10; q = 0.04). Plant-rich and Animal-source foods scores differed by geographical background (q = 0.006 for both global tests), whereas the Energy-dense/discretionary pattern did not. Conclusions: These exploratory patterns characterise dietary heterogeneity in this historical cohort but require replication in larger, contemporary samples.
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BibTeX
@article{penafernandez2026dietary,
title = {{Dietary Patterns, Food-Group Profiles, and Nutritional Characteristics in a Diverse Cohort of Young Adults Attending a UK University (2016)}},
author = {Antonio Peña-Fernández and Tomás Cámara-Pastor and M. Ángeles Peña Fernández},
journal = {Nutrients},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/nu18213503},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/21/3503},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Dietary Patterns, Food-Group Profiles, and Nutritional Characteristics in a Diverse Cohort of Young Adults Attending a UK University (2016)
AU - Antonio Peña-Fernández
AU - Tomás Cámara-Pastor
AU - M. Ángeles Peña Fernández
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/25
JO - Nutrients
DO - 10.3390/nu18213503
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/21/3503
AB - Background/Objectives: Whole-diet patterns in geographically diverse university populations remain insufficiently characterised. We examined food-group consumption and dietary patterns according to sex and geographical background in a historical UK university cohort. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis included 111 students assessed at De Montfort University, Leicester, in early 2016. Habitual intake was assessed using an expanded, adapted EPIC-Norfolk food-frequency questionnaire. Fifteen food groups were evaluated using principal component analysis after log1p transformation and standardisation; between-group comparisons were adjusted for relevant covariates and subjected to Benjamini–Hochberg false-discovery-rate correction. Results: The participants had a mean age of 20.4 ± 1.2 years, and 70.3% were female. Three patterns—Plant-rich, Animal-source foods, and Energy-dense/discretionary—explained 46.25% of the variance, compared with 35.24% for the two-component alternative. Parallel analysis supported retention of three components; bootstrap results favoured their overall reproducibility but indicated substantial uncertainty in individual food-group loadings. Males had lower adjusted Plant-rich scores than females (−0.43 SD, 95% CI −0.76 to −0.10; q = 0.04). Plant-rich and Animal-source foods scores differed by geographical background (q = 0.006 for both global tests), whereas the Energy-dense/discretionary pattern did not. Conclusions: These exploratory patterns characterise dietary heterogeneity in this historical cohort but require replication in larger, contemporary samples.
SN - 2072-6643
ER -