The project Health and Lifestyles in Higher Education in Portugal (ES+Health) aims to characterise the state of health and well-being of higher education students, as well as the behaviors and attitudes that promote health and disease prevention associated with lifestyle changes at this stage of life, such as study habits, physical exercise, diet and sleep, access to healthcare, substance use and addictive behaviours, among others, taking into consideration socioeconomic factors, gender, social and geographical origin, course and level of education (www.esmaissaude.pt).

The study will be based on a questionnaire survey applied to a stratified and clustered probabilistic sample, which guarantees the representativeness of the universe of 1st and 2nd cycle students of public higher education in Portugal from each of the 15 Universities and each of the 15 Polytechnic Higher Institutes and 5 non-integrated higher schools. The multidimensionality of the results will be useful for the development of informed policies and for the implementation of programmes and activities at national or local level, by decision-makers and higher education institutions, as well as by other organisations in the sector, that can contribute to the health and well-being of students, considering the importance of the academic context for the development of lifestyles that enhance risk behaviours or promote health and prevent disease, with an impact on their academic success and also throughout life.