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Young students, in particular those in the medical field, seem to have poor eating habits and therefore inadequate nutritional intake. We aimed to study the anthropometric and nutritional profile of a Tunisian population of medical students.

We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study at the Medical University of Tunis between November 2019 and May 2020. It included 250 students. Each student benefited from a dietary survey and anthropometric measurements.

A female predominance was noted in 71.2% of cases. The mean BMI was 23.28 [16.01-35.67] kg/m2. Abdominal obesity was present in 30% of cases.

More than a third of the students had a hypocaloric (38.4%) or hypoglucidic (41.2%) intake. The majority (82.4%) had a high protein intake and 51.6% had a high fat intake.

Regarding micronutrients, iron deficiency was noted in more than half of the cases (55.8%). Insufficient vitamin D intake was found in two-thirds of the cases (68.8%). Dietary fiber intake was insufficient in most students (84.4%).

These results justify the need for providing nutritional education among medical students in order to preserve the physical and mental health of future caregivers.

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