Lifestyles in young university students: application of the “FANTASTICO”

OBJECTIVE Entering university is a challenge of autonomy and self/group affirmation. Particular attention should be given to healthy behaviors by all stakeholders and the university environment in general. The current study aimed to investigate the lifestyle of the first year students of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa - Porto (UCP). METHODS The “FANTASTICO Lifestyle” questionnaire was applied in the “Critical Thinking” teaching sessions. The collected data were treated using the SPSS® program. RESULTS It was found that although the overall lifestyle of these students is considered “good” with no differences between genders, 7.9% of students are in the lowest values in the category. The items in which the values were most disparate were physical activity/ associativism, work/personality type, nutrition, and health/sexual behavior. The heavy weighting of the item “family/friends” stood out. CONCLUSIONS It was concluded that the “FANTASTICO” was the first step towards a diagnosis and represents a starting point to evaluate the needs of these students. Although the situation can be considered favorable, it is important to begin planning interventions now, whether for promotion of the physical activity/associativism and nutrition component, or for control in the context of tobacco and alcohol consumption.