Nutrition education improves diet quality in university students

Ultra-processed foods linked to poorer mental health

The increasing popularity of processed and ultra-processed foods has become a major public health challenge worldwide, as these foods are known to increase the risk of cardiometabolic as well as mental health disorders, especially among adolescents and young adults.

Recent global estimates indicate that about 2.5 billion people are living with obesity or overweight, and 970 million people are suffering from mental disorders across the world.

Modifiable lifestyle factors play a significant role in modulating the risks of both physical and mental disorders. Consumption of a healthy, balanced diet and regular physical activity has been found to improve cardiometabolic health and reduce the risk of emotional distress, such as depression and anxiety.

Given the known benefits of nutritional interventions and the scarcity of research on the mental health impact of these interventions among Chilean students, researchers at the Finis Terrae University, Chile, evaluated the impact of a nutrition education program on diet quality and mental well-being among Chilean university students.

Students attended seminars, snack sessions, and cooking guidance

Dietary intake and mental well-being of participants were assessed before and after the intervention using an automated self-administered dietary assessment tool and a validated mental well-being scale, respectively.

The study was designed as a pilot before-and-after intervention without a control group, meaning the findings should be interpreted cautiously and cannot establish causality.

Nutrition program reduced ultra-processed food consumption

The assessment of micronutrient (vitamins and minerals) and food group intakes revealed that calcium and sodium intakes were, respectively, below and above the recommended ranges at baseline across participants. After the intervention, calcium intake increased, and sodium intake decreased significantly, becoming no longer statistically different from the recommended intake range.

The intake of fruits increased by almost 2-fold after the intervention; however, it remained below the recommended range. In contrast, the intake of processed and ultra-processed foods decreased significantly after the intervention. Intakes of dairy products, vegetables, and total fiber remained below the recommended ranges at both time points and showed no change after the intervention.

Impact of dietary patterns on mental wellbeing

The correlation analysis revealed a significant positive association between sodium and saturated fat intakes among participants at baseline. This association substantially weakened over time during the intervention period.

A significant inverse association between sodium intake and mental well-being at baseline was observed, which disappeared after the intervention. These findings indicate a potential attenuation of unhealthy diet–mental wellbeing associations following the intervention.

Nutrition education showed targeted benefits for student health

The study highlights the usefulness of a structured nutrition education intervention in improving diet quality and supporting favorable trends in mental well-being among university students.

Overall, the findings indicate that the nutrition education program was associated with beneficial changes in immediately actionable behaviors, such as restricting sodium intake and reducing intake of processed and ultra-processed foods. However, this intervention may be less effective at changing habit-dependent behaviors, such as increasing intake of vegetables and dietary fiber.

Notably, the findings indicate that even a partial improvement in dietary patterns may contribute to favorable trends in some aspects of mental well-being among university students, although the study did not evaluate long-term outcomes.

Regarding mental well-being, the study finds that the nutrition education program was associated with increased perceptions of interpersonal closeness and personal autonomy. The observed improvement in overall mental well-being scores among participants following the intervention could be attributed to the anti-inflammatory and gut health-improving responses triggered by increased fruit and calcium intake and reduced sodium and ultra-processed food intake; however, these biological mechanisms were not directly measured in the study.

Given the nutritional and mental health scenario in Chile, this study highlights the need for future large-scale and long-term research to identify specific program components that most effectively help students achieve nutritional adequacy and mental well-being.

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Journal reference:

• Torres K, Terzi S, Simon L. (2026). Changes in dietary habits and mental well-being among university students following an educational intervention: pilot study. Scientific Reports. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-52758-3. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-52758-3