Özet:

Introduction: Inadequate food intake can lead to the development of depression and anxiety in the face of the possibility of inducing deficiencies of nutrients essential to brain chemistry. Given the context they are inserted, the university public may be prone to eating habits with the presence of nutrient-poor foods, such as processed and ultra-processed foods. Objective: to analyze the relationship between food intake and the risk of developing anxiety and depression among university students. Materials and Methods: cross-sectional study, with 105 adults, of both sexes, students in undergraduate courses of the health center, living in the metropolitan region of Recife-PE. A Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), an anxiety and depression scale and a questionnaire were applied that assessed the level of physical activity. These questionnaires were self-completed online, and data analyses were made by the IBM SPSS Statistics program, using frequency analysis and Pearson's Chi-Square Test. Results and discussion: A representative amount of the sample is classified as a possible risk for developing depression 40 (38.1%) and 33 (31.4%) to develop anxiety and that meat consumption in general (p*0.003) had a protective effect for depression and the consumption of vegetables (p*0.033) for anxiety, the other foods did not obtain statistical significance (p*>0.05). Conclusion: The highlighted foods, classified as minimally processed, are quali-quantitatively more nutritious than processed and ultra-processed foods, thus contributing to an adequate development and maintenance of mental health.

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