ABSTRACT
Introduction: Confinement has adverse psycho-social as well as dietary repercussions. During the pandemic there was a higher consumption of processed and canned foods, in-creasing the consumption of omega 6 (co-6) and probably de-creasing the consumption of omega 3 (co-3).Objective: To determine the relationship between knowl-edge and dietary habits about omega 3 and 6 in university students from Ecuador and Peru during COVID-19.Methods: Descriptive, cross-sectional study, carried out in 134 Ecuadorian and 215 Peruvian students. Data were obtained from a virtual questionnaire with questions on knowledge and dietary habits about ca-3 and ca-6. Spearman's Rho, Mann Whitney U and Kruskall Wallis statistical tests were performed.Results: A correlation coefficient of knowledge and eating habits on ca-3 and ca-6, Rho=0.146 (p=0.092) and Rho=0.081 (p=0.235) was obtained for the samples from Ecuador and Peru, respectively. In Ecuadorian students, there were differences in the levels of knowledge about ca-3 and ca -6, both in males and females (p=0.007). In both countries there are different levels of knowledge in the different spe-cialties of the study (p=0.004).Conclusion: There is no correlation between knowledge and eating habits about ca-3 and ca-6 in university students of Health Sciences in both countries. Students from Ecuador present insufficient knowledge and inadequate dietary habits about ca-3 and ca-6, more than Peru.