Evaluación del nivel de seguridad alimentaria y la calidad de la dieta de los internos rotativos de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud de la Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil.

Abstract

Food security and diet quality are determining factors for the health and performance of students in the health field. Despite their relevance, there is limited evidence on this issue among rotating interns in Ecuador. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the level of food security and diet quality of rotating interns from the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil. A quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 201 interns from the Medicine, Nursing, and Nutrition and Dietetics programs. The Latin American and Caribbean Food Security Scale (ELCSA) and the Food Quality and Protection Index (ICAPA) were applied. The results indicated that 64.27% of the participants presented some degree of food insecurity, with mild food insecurity being the most frequent at 41.29%. Regarding diet quality, 70.65% were classified in the “Unhealthy” category. No statistically significant association was found between the level of food security and diet quality; however, interns from Nutrition and Dietetics showed better results compared to the other programs. These findings show a high proportion of participants with food insecurity and low-quality diets.