Physical Activity and Fruit and Vegetable Intake among Black and White Female College Students at Two- and Four-Year Colleges and Universities

Abstract

Objective We compared fruit and vegetable (FV) intake, physical activity (PA), and overweight/ obesity among Black and White females attending two- and four-year colleges. Methods We recruited 24,055 students at six colleges in the Southeast to complete an online survey, yielding 4840 responses (20.1% response rate). The current analyses focused on the 2276 Black and White females. Results Binary logistic regression analyses indicated that recommended FV intake among White females was associated with greater extraversion (Odds Ratio [OR] = 1.05, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.00, 1.11, p = 0.05) and greater conscientiousness (OR = 1.08, CI 1.02, 1.14, p = 0.01), whereas among Black females correlates included greater openness to experience (OR = 1.08, CI 1.01, 1.15, p = 0.03). Ordinal logistic regression analyses indicated that, among White females, greater PA was associated with attending a four-year college (Beta = 0.27, CI 0.01, 0.53, p = 0.04), whereas among Black females, correlates were with younger age (Beta = 0.01, CI 0.17, 0.03, p = 0.003) and greater emotional stability (Beta = 0.07, CI 0.01, 0.13, p = 0.02). Binary logistic regression analyses indicated that, among White females, being overweight or obese was associated with older age (OR = 1.08, CI 1.01, 1.16, p = 0.03), attending a two-year college (OR = 1.62, CI 1.22, 2.16, p = 0.001), and lower satisfaction with life (OR = 0.96, CI 0.94, 0.98, p = 0.002), whereas among Black females, being overweight or obese was associated with older age (OR = 1.87, CI 1.10, 1.28, p < 0.001). Conclusions Identifying factors related to obesity-related factors is critical in developing interventions targeting factors associated with overweight and obesity among Black and White females attending two- and four-year colleges. Moreover, understanding different college settings and the contextual factors associated with overweight/obesity is critical.

Physical activity, sedentary behaviour and psychological wellbeing among young adults in Bangladesh: A one-year prospective study

“…It involves significant life events; young adults may move away from the parental home, commence tertiary education or work, gain more autonomy in life, and may have more freedom in terms of making lifestyle choices (Arnett 2000;Hogan 1978;Jekielek & Brown 2005). During this transition, young adults may adopt health-compromising lifestyle behaviours, such as low levels of PA participation (Berg et al 2014;Kwan et al 2012) and prolonged time spent in SB (Lake et al 2009). These health-compromising behaviours during young adulthood may increase the risk for concurrent physical health issues such as weight gain, and psychological difficulties including anxiety and depression, and lower self-esteem and cognitive performance; as well as chronic health conditions, including osteoporosis, obesity, hyperlipidaemia and diabetes, later in life (Gordon-Larsen et al 2009;Hallal et al 2006;Hogan et al 2013;Tyson et al 2010).…”

“…Therefore, the transitional period from adolescence to adulthood is a critical phase of life for health behaviours and future risk of developing chronic health conditions. Insufficient PA during early adulthood may increase the risk of developing NCDs such as osteoporosis, obesity, and diabetes in later life (Berg et al 2014). PA participation can reduce weight gain and increase the likelihood of weight loss and weight maintenance during young adulthood (Gordon-Larsen et al 2009).…”