An Investigation into the Lifestyle, Health Habits and Risk Factors of Young Adults

Abstract

This project examined the lifestyle, health habits and risk factors of young adults at Qatar University. It explored the clustering and differences in dietary habits, body mass index (BMI) and physical activity (PA) amongst male and female students, both Qatari and non-Qatari. Seven hundred thirty two students aged 18–25 years completed a self-reported questionnaire and an objective measure of BMI. Males and females had a high prevalence of being overweight and obesity and low levels of PA, according to well-established international standards. Three clusters were identified based on the students’ lifestyle and dietary habits. Cluster 1 (high risk factors) included those who engaged the least in healthy dietary practices and consumed the most unhealthy foods, participated in less PA and had the highest BMI. Cluster 2 (moderate risk factors) included those with considerably more habits falling into the moderate category, engagement in the most PA, the least TV and computer viewing time and had the lowest BMI. Cluster 3 (low risk factors) included those who engaged the most with the four healthy dietary practices, the least with the four unhealthy dietary practices and participated in moderate PA per week. This project provides valuable data that could be used by policy makers to address issues concerning student’s health.

Assessment of Lifestyle in rural youth using Simple Lifestyle Indicator Questionnaire (SLIQ)

“…16 The lifestyle transformation has considerable impact on reducing physical requirement and thus the physical activity becomes secondary. 8 Regular participation in physical activities are associated with longer and better quality of life, reduced risks of a variety of diseases and many psychological and emotional benefits.…”

“…7 Significant lifestyle changes due to rapid urbanization, dominance of personal transport, the introduction of labour saving devices, the easy availability of high fat and dense caloric food, increased communication devices as well as decreased occupational work demand. 8 The rapid change of today's society has brought a change in our lifestyle. As the standard of living has increased, our diet has become richer.…”

“…12 Independence obtained during the transition period leads to shift of lifestyle habits, thus leading to risk factors of non communicable disease include hypertension, increased concentration of cholesterol in blood, inadequate intake of fruit and vegetable, being overweight or obesity, physical inactivity and tobacco use. 8 The frequency of consumption of Lettuce or green leafy salad, with or without vegetables was less among students. The study confirms that rapid change in lifestyle has changed the habits and behaviour of young rural adults.…”

Development of Web- Based Nutritional Health Education Module

“…Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors such as dietary habits are modifiable and usually established during youth or young adulthood (38) . These dietary habits need to be promoted by providing health education information (39) .…”

Tipologías de estilos de vida en jóvenes universitarios

“…Asimismo, debido a las ocupaciones de los jóvenes, el ingreso a la universidad, el menor control parental, las actividades sociales y el uso frecuente de dispositivos tecnológicos, disminuye su nivel de actividad física, sus hábitos de alimentación cambian y los niveles de estrés aumentan 5,6 . Todo lo anterior configura estilos de vida particulares en esta población, tendiendo a ser considerados de alto riesgo 7 .…”