Prevalence of overweight and obesity and their associated factors among health sciences college students, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Context: The healthcare sciences college students have a lifestyle with low physical activity and disordered eating habits, which exposes them to a higher risk of obesity. Health science college students were the target group of particular interest in this study as they are future physicians. If they are overweight or obese, they will carry the wrong impression to the general population. Aim: To assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity among healthcare science college students at private university in Saudi Arabia. Also, it assesses the relationship between the sociodemographic characteristics and risk of overweight and obesity in this population. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare science college students. A validated, structured, closed-ended questionnaire was self-administered through the Monkey survey. All data were analyzed using SPSS. Results: 401 students participated, in which 33.4% were male and 66.6% were female students; and the mean age was 22 years. The study showed that 23.7% of participants were overweight, and 11% were obese. The prevalence of obesity was higher among males. Family history of obesity and fatigue were risk factors for obesity. Conclusion: The healthcare Science College students showed a high prevalence of obesity and overweight. This is strengthening the need to encourage a healthy lifestyle, healthy food habits, and physical activities to avoid obesity-related complications.

Prevalence and determinants of obesity among medical students at Al Maarefa University, Saudi Arabia, 2022

“…This prevalence was significantly lower than that found in a study carried out in the northern border university (Mehmood et al, 2016). However, it is in concurrence with the reported study in KSU (Saeed et al, 2017) and slightly higher than that of the reported finding in Dar Al-Uloom study (Makkawy et al, 2021). One surprising finding was revealing the significant disparity between obese female and male students.…”

“…A study of Shaqra University's medical students revealed that 19.3% of them were obese and 25.4% were overweight (Aqeel et al, 2020). In a survey of medical students at Dar Al Uloom University in Riyadh, it was discovered that overweight students made up 23.7% of the participants and obese students made up 11% of the participants (Makkawy et al, 2021). A study conducted on the health colleges of King Saud University, Riyadh it was found that 13.7% of students were obese (Saeed et al, 2017).…”

Total Body Fat Assessed by Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis among University Students

“…The prevalence of obesity and overweight status in Saudi Arabia is worrying, and it has risen rapidly in recent decades to become one of the world's highest rates of overweight status and obesity prevalence (DeNicola et al 2015;Habbab and Bhutta 2020). In a recent cross-sectional study conducted among medical and dentistry students (mean age 22 year) in Saudi Arabia, 23.7 % of those who took part were overweight, and 11% were obese (Makkawy et al 2021). However, the study used BMI as an instrument to classify obesity.…”

Assessing Physiological and Psychological Factors Contributing to Stress among Medical Students: Implications for Health

“…Stress affects students’ coping behaviors, such as eating habits, smoking, and substance abuse [ 9 , 12 ]. This might reflect the high prevalence of obesity reported in health colleges, which was associated with lower academic performance and higher stress levels [ 13 , 14 ]. Stress was also linked to blood type and comorbidities such as insulin resistance and hypertension [ 15 ].…”