A cross sectional analysis of eating habits and weight status of university students in urban Cameroon

Abstract

Background: The changeover from high school to university is characterized by the inability to make informed food choices and unhealthy eating habits. This study sets out to determine the prevalence of overweight/obesity, examine variations in dietary habits and assess the relationships between some dietary factors and overweight/ obesity in university students. Methods: University students (N = 906, mean age 21.4 ± 2.1 years) that included 434 males and 472 females were recruited using a simple random sampling technique from six departments in two universities in a cross sectional study in the North West Region of Cameroon. Weight and height were measured and body mass index calculated. Eating habits and weekly consumption of selected food items were self-reported by the students using a pre-tested questionnaire.Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity were 24.6% and 2.2% respectively. A majority (60.7%) of the students had less than three meals a day. Also, 53.4% ate fried foods, 46.0% had sweets/chocolates and 39.5% had sugar sweetened beverages twice or more times in a week. Skipping/rarely having breakfast (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.2-2.9) and having snacks in-between meals three or more times a day (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.4-5.5) were associated with overweight/obesity after controlling for confounding variables. In addition, skipping/rarely having breakfast (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.3-3.5) independently predicted overweight/obesity in a model that included confounding variables and selected dietary behaviors. Conclusion: The unhealthy eating habits exhibited by students in this study is worrying. Qualitative studies need to be carried out in the future to identify determinants (of Cameroon ethnicity) of poor eating habits in university students.

A cross-sectional study on BMI and eating habits among students in a medical college in Kerala

“…7,10,11,15,16 While some studies had a larger sample size(>1000); few other studies had a smaller sample size than present study(<200). 8,9,[12][13][14]17,18 Female students were more in number compared to males, which is similar to most other studies. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] But some studies had more male students than females.…”

“…8,9,[12][13][14]17,18 Female students were more in number compared to males, which is similar to most other studies. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] But some studies had more male students than females. [7][8][9] While another study conducted in Saudi Arabia had only male students as study subjects.…”

“…7,14,17 Also, higher prevalence estimates have been reported in the Mangalore, India, 9 while few other studies in Alexandria, Egypt, Benha, Egypt, Cameroon, USA and Saudi Arabia have reported lower estimates. [10][11][12]15,16 Overweight and Obese students were 18.2% and 2.1% respectively. Male students were found to be having more overweight (27.8%) and obesity (2.3%) compared to female students with overweight (12.9%) and obesity (1.9%) respectively.…”

“…This is similar to most of the studies, except for the studies in Benha, Egypt and Cameroon where even though males were more obese; females were found to be more overweight than males. 7,8,[10][11][12]14,15,17,18 The lower rate of obesity among female students is expected since females are more cautious about their weight status than males, due to society perceptions which encourage females to be slender. This assumption was supported by the fact that only 5.8% of males were underweight as compared to 14.2% of females in this studied sample.…”

Association between body mass index and ready-to-eat food consumption among sedentary staff in Nay Pyi Taw union territory, Myanmar

“…A study from the United States reported that frequent RTE food consumption led to increased energy intake, resulting in overweight and obesity [36]. This finding is in line with studies from Cameroon, Luxembourg, and Indonesia [37][38][39].…”