The factor of healthy diet is recognized as one of the key components of the WHO general strategy, according to which 60% of the causes of human mortality are directly related to poor nutrition. Nutrition-related cardiovascular conditions are increasingly registered in adolescence and young adulthood. The aim of the study was to assess the dietary pattern and the level of knowledge of junior medical students about rational food consumption based on sociological survey data. A cross-sectional anonymous sociological online survey of the Ural State Medical University 1–3-year students was performed. The international questionnaire HBSC (Health Behavior in School-Aged Children) was adapted for the purposes of the study and the WHO manual for a brief assessment of the nutrition model was used to interpret the data obtained. The study revealed that only 15.0% of students eat in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines on Healthy Eating for the Population. There is a need to develop methodological manuals regulating approaches to optimize the nutrition of students, and to create a unified algorithm aimed at rationalizing nutrition to maintain the health of students.
Keywords: student nutrition, rational nutrition, nutritional health, nutritional regimen.