A study of the frequency of overweight, obesity and metabolic syndrome among university students

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of excess weight, obesity and other metabolic syndrome components among university students. Methods: This cross-sectional study included a total of 357 university students. The socioeconomic data, lifestyle, and cardiovascular disease risk factors were filled out using a questionnaire. The clinical screenings included measurement of blood pressure and determination of fasting lipid and glucose concentrations. T-test, Pearson Chi-Square and Fisher's Exact Test were used for statistical analysis. Results: The percentage of overweight or obese individuals was 25.9% in university students. The metabolic syndrome (MetS) frequency as per the NCEP ATP III criteria was 2.4% (n=7). The risk of developing MetS is high among those who smoke and male university students. There were significant correlations between body mass index and systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and triglycerides levels. Conclusion: Our findings provide evidence for the high frequency of excess weight and obesity in university students. The cardiovascular disease risk factors among overweight and obese students were significantly higher than normal weight students. Lifestyle modifications such as increased dietary changes and physical activity can be helpful changes in MetS criteria.

Prevalence and Risk Factors Associated with Metabolic Syndrome among University Students in Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia

“…The present study demonstrated that the prevalence of MetS was higher in males compared to females and males were 3.4 times more likely to develop MetS than females, which is statistically significant. This result agreed with several previous students' studies (10,12,26,34). The higher prevalence of MetS in males can be related to excess body weight, sedentary lifestyles such as physical inactivity and a higher rate of smoking.…”

“…A study observed the same outcome that smokers were 6 times more likely to exhibit MetS (10). The same finding also concurred with the present study outcome that smoking habit has a significant association with MetS (12). In contrast, a study on Egyptian students, and a study on Palestinian students observed no significant relationship between smokers and MetS (32,40).…”

“…This contradictory outcome might be due to their smoking habit and inactive lifestyle, which were very common in male than female respondents in the current study. Sedentary lifestyle is a key risk factor for developing several components of MetS (12). In addition, previous studies found a higher prevalence of elevated triglyceride and elevated blood pressure in males compared with female which is also found in the present study (8,30).…”

“…Previous studies The association between physical exercise and MetS was not statistically significant. A number of previous studies also agreed with this finding that there is no significant relationship between MetS and physical exercise (10,12,19). In contrast, a previous study found sedentary lifestyle is significantly associated with MetS (8).…”

“…Studies have reported that the prevalence of MetS among African American university students ranged from 0% to 19.2% (11). Another study showed that according to the literature on different countries, the prevalence of MetS among university students ranged between 1.9% to 14.2% (12). Furthermore, overweight and obesity have increased rapidly among Malaysian university students because of unhealthy diet, stress, and sedentary lifestyle (7).…”