Unhealthy Lifestyle and Nutritional Habits Are Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Diseases Regardless of Professed Religion in University Students Navarro Prado, Silvia Schmidt Río Valle, Jacqueline Montero Alonso, Miguel Ángel Fernández Aparicio, Ángel González Jiménez, Emilio Lifestyle Eating habits Cardiovascular disease University students Religion To date, few studies have evaluated the possible association between religion and nutritional habits, lifestyle and cardiovascular risk in the university population. This study identified differences in the eating habits of Christian and Muslim university students and determined a possible association between the impact of religion on their lifestyles and the parameters related to cardiovascular risk. A cross-sectional study was performed with a sample population of 257 students (22.4 4.76 year) at the campus of the University of Granada in Melilla (Spain). An anthropometric evaluation and a dietary assessment were performed. Blood pressure was also measured. There was a higher prevalence of overweight (29.1%) among Christian university students. The prevalence of pre-hypertension was similar between Christians and Muslims (48.3%) but was higher among Christian males (74.5%). Christian students presented higher levels of visceral fat. Students of both religions ingested carbohydrates, saturated fatty acids and total cholesterol, proteins, sodium and alcohol in excess. Significant positive correlations were found between food energy, sweets, snacks, soft drinks and body mass index (BMI) in both sexes and between the consumption of sausages-fatty meats and the systolic blood pressure (SBP) and body adiposity index (BAI) variables. Muslim students were less likely to consume alcohol (odds ratio [OR] = 7.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.27, 14.54). Christian and Muslim students presented improvable lifestyles and intake patterns. The high intake of saturated fatty acids, total cholesterol, sodium and alcohol in Christian students could lead to the early development of cardiovascular disease. 2019-04-03T11:01:27Z 2019-04-03T11:01:27Z 2018-12-14 journal article Navarro-Prado, S. [et al.]. Unhealthy Lifestyle and Nutritional Habits Are Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Diseases Regardless of Professed Religion in University Students. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 2872. 1660-4601 http://hdl.handle.net/10481/55329 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/ open access Atribución 3.0 España MDPI