Health promoting lifestyle of university students in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional assessment

Abstract

BackgroundCollege is a critical time where students are more prone to engage in risky health behaviors known to negatively affect well-being, such as physical inactivity, stress, and poor dietary habits. A health promoting lifestyle is an important determinant of health status and is recognized as a major factor for the maintenance and improvement of health. This study was designed to assess the health-promoting lifestyle of students in health colleges and non-health colleges in Saudi Arabia.MethodsA total of 1656 students participated in this descriptive cross-sectional study. Data gathering was conducted from November 2016 to February 2017 at King Saud University. Participating students completed a self-reported questionnaire that included questions regarding their demographic characteristics and their health-promoting behaviors.ResultsThe majority of participants were females (70.4%), 20% of the participants were overweight and 11.3%, were obese. The analysis showed that there was a significant difference between health colleges and non-health colleges with regards to the factor of health responsibility. Students at both schools were found to have an inadequate level of adherence to recommendations regarding physical activity and healthy eating habits. The analysis also found that majority of the students in both colleges do not attend educational programs on health care. The model shows that gender, type of college, year in school, and family structure were significant predictors of the health lifestyle of students in Saudi Arabia.ConclusionThe results of the current study indicate that university students are leading unhealthy lives, where the majority of them have unhealthy eating habits and poor physical activity level. Universities are ideal settings for implementing health promotion programs. Therefore, planning and implementing programs to motivate students to be more responsible for their own health, to engage more in physical activity, and to practice healthy eating habits and other forms of wellness are of paramount importance.

Psychometric Properties of the Moore Index of Nutrition Self-Care in Arabic: A Study among Saudi Adolescents at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

“…In 2018, Almutairi et al conducted a study titled "Health Promoting Lifestyle of University Students in Saudi Arabia." e study reported that approximately 20% of participants were overweight, while 11.3% were obese [26]. Reports have revealed that a majority of both college and school students do not attend educational programs on health care [20,27].…”

“…It is with this goal that we translated, designed, and tested the psychometric properties of the Arabic MIN-SC, which was determined to be a valid and reliable tool for assessing nutrition self-care among Saudi students. e need for this investigation was supported by numerous studies showing that school students do not sufficiently adhere to recommended physical activity and healthy eating habits [25,26]. In one study conducted using a convenience sample of school children to measure self-care, only 2.5% of the children had healthy practices, while 6.9% showed unhealthy behaviors [25].…”

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“…Another study of Almutairi et al [38] empirically evaluated the factors that promote a healthy lifestyle among college students. The author used a descriptive cross-sectional study design to gather data from 1656 students from November 2016 to January 2017 at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia.…”

Associação entre estilo de vida e percepção de saúde em estudantes universitários

“…de vida tem sofrido significativas mudanças, pois, nessa fase, há mudanças nas rotinas desses jovens e hábitos de saúde que passam a explicar ocorrência de agravos à saúde, nos quais o comportamento do indivíduo tem papel importante 2,3 . O ingresso no ensino superior é caracterizado por profundas mudanças de ordem social e comportamental, as quais podem levar a alterações em seus estilos de vida 4,5 .…”

“…A aquisição de hábitos saudáveis como prática de atividade física, alimentação balanceada, comportamento preventivo e melhoria do sono podem reduzir os fatores de riscos para o desenvolvimento de doenças cardiovasculares, sendo, portanto, ações de baixo custo, quando comparadas com os ascendentes orçamentos dos tratamentos medicamentosos e dependentes de alta tecnologia 2,3,4 .…”