Risk factors for the development of hypertension related to nutrition habits in students of the University of Belgrade

The aim of the study was to determine the presence of risk factors for developing hypertension in the University of Belgrade student population whose faculties do not provide the opportunity to learn about these factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted during November and December 2015 at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the Faculty of Electric Engineering and the Faculty of Law. The respondents filled in a questionnaire, which was approved by the Ethics Committee for bio-medical research from the Faculty of Pharmacy. The study included 487 students. 56.7% were male students. Most of the respondents studied Law (210), followed by Mechanical Engineering (168) and Electrical Engineering (109). 75.8% of respondents consumed salty snacks, while 34.5% of them changed their habits of consuming snacks during the examination period. Fish was consumed less than once a week by 39.8% of the respondents, whereas 19.9% of them consumed candies every day. 63.9% consumed fast food. Energy drinks were not consumed by the majority (52.2%), while 22.4% only consumed them before an exam. The research results indicated the presence of reversible risk factors in the examined student population. In order to prevent the development of hypertension in the elderly population and reduce the number of risk factors present, it is necessary to develop educational programs for proper diet and adequate intake of food groups.