• Felipe Araya-Quintanilla, Leslie Landaeta-Diaz, Angela Rosati, Catalina Silva-Navarro, Andrís Jeria-Déaz, and Héctor Gutiérrez-Espinoza.
• Escuela de Kinesiología, Facultad de Odontología y Ciencias de la Rehabilitación, Universidad San Sebastián, Santiago, Chile.
• Rev Med Chil. 2023 Jun 1; 151 (6): 725734725-734.

AimThe main objective of this study was to analyze the change in physical activity, quality of diet, and weight upon admission to higher education and at one-year follow-up in Chilean university students.Materials And Methods376 Chilean university students were prospectively recruited. All participants were assessed at bas eline and one-year follow-up. Sociodemographics and other co-variables were described. Physical activity, healthy eating behavior, height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) were assessed using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ), and quality of diet (with Healthy Eating Index), SECA 213 stadiometer and TANITA HD-351, respectively.ResultsAt the one-year follow-up, high-intensity METs (Metabolic equivalents) decreased by 147.9 (95% CI: 79.5 to 216; p = 0.000), moderate-intensity METs decreased by 85.0 (95% CI: 52.2 to 117.7; p = 0.000), sedentary behavior increased by 45.0 min/week (95% CI: 54.6 to 35.4; p = 0.000), total METs decreased by 793.6 (95% CI: 613.0 to 974.1; p = 0.000), HEI decreased by 45.4 points (95% CI: 48.5 to 82.1; p = 0.000), weight increased by 5.9 kg (95% CI: 3.5 to 6.3; p = 0.002), and BMI increased by 2.8 kg/m2 (95% CI: 2.7 to 3.2; p = 0.000). The correlation between total METs and the HEI was r = 0.21 (p = 0.013).ConclusionsThere are statistically significant differences at one-year follow-up in Chilean university students in decreased physical activity, impaired healthy eating behavior, and increased weight and BMI.

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