OBJECTIVE: Characterize the nutritional status, dietary patterns and physical activity of the population aged 15 to 65 in the urban area of Cartagena, Colombia in 2015, the ELANS study. METHODOLOGY: Secondary study with information from the Latin American Nutrition and Health Study (ELANS) database with registration # 00006190 from the Pontificia University Javeriana, in the sense of the population of the city of Cartagena; takes into account the variables of: nutritional status, physical activity and intake. RESULTS: 114 habitants of the residential area of the city of Cartagena participated, 59 were men (52%) and 55 were women (48%), the predominant age was 20 to 34 years of age (38, 6%) , the largest percentage of the population belongs to the low socioeconomic stratum (65.7%), and 40.3% is automatically recognized as mestizo. Regarding the nutritional status it was found that in the group with ages between 15 and 19 years (adolescents), while in their normal nutritional status (67% of women and 75% of men), while, in the group with ages between 20 and 65 years, 54% of people had a degree of excess weight, being more prevalent overweight; 38% of the population presents the risk of having a relationship above the reference value. As for physical activity, it has been found that 40.5% of the population has insufficient physical activity. Finally, in the intake data it has been found that the population in general has an adequate form for macronutrients, which is within the acceptable range according to the recommendations given by the RIEN (AMDR), however, regarding the consumption of saturated fat, cholesterol and added sugar, these are above the acceptable range given by the RIEN. CONCLUSION: Excess weight has a high prevalence in the inhabitants of the urban area of Cartagena, becoming a problem of great magnitude in public health, therefore, it is important to implement strategies focused on the promotion of healthy eating and the Realization of physical activity