Research Article Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and Lifestyle Characteristics of University Students in Cyprus: A Cross-Sectional Survey Elena Hadjimbei, 1 George Botsaris, 1 Vassilis Gekas, 1 and Andrie G. Panayiotou 2 1 Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science, Cyprus University of Technology, 3036 Limassol, Cyprus 2 Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health in Association with the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Cyprus University of Technology, 3041 Limassol, Cyprus Correspondence should be addressed to Andrie G. Panayiotou; andrie.panayiotou@cut.ac.cy Received 5 February 2016; Revised 30 March 2016; Accepted 26 April 2016 Academic Editor: Pedro Moreira Copyright © 2016 Elena Hadjimbei et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Objective. To assess dietary-related habits among young adults. Design and Setting. Dietary habits were assessed cross-sectionally, using a self-completed questionnaire in 193 students enrolled in public and private universities in Cyprus. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was evaluated using the validated KIDMED index. BMI was estimated based on weight and height measurements. Results. Te mean BMI was 23.31 (±3.98). Te mean adherence score to the Mediterranean diet was 6.0 (IQR 4 to 8), with 26.9% of students being classifed as high adherers and 21.8% as low adherers to the Mediterranean diet. About 32% of students consumed a second serving of fruit and vegetables more than once a day, whereas 26% reported going more than once a week to a fast-food restaurant and 31% consumed sweets and candy several times a day. On the other hand, 76% of participants reported consumption of at least two dairy products daily and 88% use olive oil at home. Te majority consume cofee 2-3 times per day. Conclusions. Results support a shif from traditional healthy diets to more unhealthy eating patterns. However, we also report a high dairy intake and use of olive oil. Tailored-made strategies targeting the young adult population could be warranted. 1. Introduction Young adulthood, defned as 18–25 years of age, is an impor- tant transitional period from adolescence to adulthood, dur- ing which long-term health behavior patterns are formed and established. Tis life stage is critical as many changes occur during it, such as the development of self-identity, leaving home, and increased autonomy in decision-making [1]. Young adults should have good dietary habits with adequate nutrient intakes, not only for overall good health, but also because the skeletal development continues during that period. Although approximately 90% of peak bone mass is attained by the age of 18 years, bone mass keeps growing until around age 30 [2]. However young adults tend to follow a poor diet, marked by low consumption of fruits and vegeta- bles and high consumption of fast food and sugar-sweetened beverages [3]. Tis can infuence not only their concurrent health but also their future risk for a number of chronic diseases at a later age. Te Mediterranean diet pattern, orig- inating from the traditional Mediterranean diet, has been consistently linked to a lower risk for a number of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease [4] and cancer [5]. Adherence to the Mediterranean pattern is therefore important in improving overall health, whereas young adult- hood may be an important time for intervening and establish- ing long-term health behaviors. Given that a large proportion of young adults enroll in universities, university campuses represent a prime setting for data-driven health promotion intervention eforts. Nonetheless, data on the diet of young adults, especially in Mediterranean countries such as Cyprus, are lacking. Terefore the aim of the study was to investigate the level of adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet pattern overall and to specifc dietary components, among Cypriot Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism Volume 2016, Article ID 2742841, 8 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/2742841