3. Results
abnormal blood values, chronic disease
DISEASE, CHRONIC DISEASE
Of the 360 students assessed for eligibility, 213 were excluded because they did not meet the inclusion criteria (some of them reported a history of chronic disease or had abnormal blood values, indicative of possible disease) or declined to participate (Baseline characteristics of the participants are reported in Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was low at baseline, with the majority of subjects (57.6% and 65.1% in the INT and CTRL groups, respectively) reporting a low adherence score at the PREDIMED questionnaire stage (≤7). Most subjects were referred to a high level of physical activity in both groups according to the IPAQ score (>700 METs) (87.1% and 80.3% in the INT and CTRL groups, respectively). Again, no statistically significant difference was found between the two groups.The PREDIMED mean score increased from t0 to t4 and t8, more in the INT (6.83, 9.85, and 9.12, respectively), than the CTRL group (6.73, 7.00, and 7.69, respectively) (The food intakes at t0, t4, and t8 are shown for each group in Macro- and micro-nutrient intakes at t0, t4, and t8 for both groups are shown in Two comparisons between the subjects attending and those not attending the 4th- and 8th-month (t4 and t8) evaluations were performed, for each variable and dietary parameter (food groups and nutrients) at baseline. No significant difference was found between participating subjects and the dropouts of the control group at the 4th-month evaluation for food items or nutrients, using the nonparametric Mann–Whitney test, at the reduced threshold of 