A cross-sectional study on prevalence of obesity and its association with dietary habits among college students in Abha, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: During the past few years there was a western influence in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and as a result of it the eating habits among the male college students had rapidly changed which also increased the prevalence rate of overweight and obesity. Therefore the objectives of the study were 1) To determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in a sample of male college students in Abha, Saudi Arabia. 2) To determine the relationship between the Student’s body weight and their eating habits. Methods: A cross-Sectional study was done among 445 male college students from king Khalid University, Abha Saudi Arabia. Study participants were selected randomly and self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. Data was analyzed by using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS Inc. version 16.) and expressed in percentages. Results: The study found that 28% and 20 % of students were overweight and obese. Daily intake of snacks and lack of consumption of vegetable and fruits were found to be the common dietary habits among the male college students. Majority of the students were aware about the balanced nutrition and it was positively correlated with the normal body weight. Conclusions: The current study suggest involvement of college Administration and family members will further reduce the burden of overweight and obesity among college students in the nation.

<p>Eating Habits Among Medical Students at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia</p>

“…1 Almost half of the students in this study (50.5%) ate regular meals; this finding was higher than those reported in other areas of Saudi Arabia, from the College of Health Sciences at Rass, Qassim University (36.7%) 20 and from Abha (31.0%). 21 Meanwhile, this finding was lower than that documented for Chinese (83.6%), 9 Lebanese (61.4%), 22 and Malaysian medical students (57.6%). 14 These habits need to be changed through educational programs aimed at enhancing healthy eating habits in Saudi Arabia.…”

“…33 This study revealed that only 17.7% of the students ate meals on a daily basis without having snacks in between, while a majority (56.3%) had snacks between meals at least three times per week, and 26.5% had snacks daily. Daily consumption of snacks was also a common habit (35.96%) among the Saudi students in Abha, 21 and being a staple food in this region, dates were eaten by students typically around four times per week (29.21%). The findings of this study were higher compared to previous studies from various other countries, where fewer Syrian (53%), 34 Lebanese (53.20%), 22 and Malaysian (42.4%) 14 students consumed snacks regularly.…”

“…37 In Abha, Saudi Arabia, the reported prevalence of fruits and vegetables intake among Saudi youth were 50.8% and 62.4%, 4 respectively, and for fruit intake among Saudi university students, it was 31.46%. 21 Aboul Azm and Elebiary 38 reported that 30% of female nursing students in Saudi Arabia ate fruits and vegetables daily. Research in other countries have reported that 26.3% of Bahrain students ate five servings of fruits and vegetables daily, 35 while 20% of Pakistani female university students ate two servings of fruits and vegetables daily.…”

Dietary patterns among students of health sciences and its association with morbidity in a private medical university of coastal Karnataka: a cross-sectional study

“…21 Alsharani MM et al in their study regarding dietary habits among college students in Saudi Arabia found that only 31% were regular in consuming meals and the rest 69% were irregular. 22 In the study conducted by AckuakuDogbe et al it was found that the overall breakfast skipping among the students was 71.92%. 15 In the study conducted by Bagordo et al 11% of students said that they skip the first meal of the day.…”

“…13 Alsharani et al in their study in Saudi Arabia found that 45% were normal weight, 28% were overweight and 20% were obese. 22 In a study conducted by Huang et al among the students of University of Kansas, USA it was found that 21.6% were overweight, 4.9% were obese and the rest had a normal BMI (N=736). 23 Racette et al conducted a study at Washington University in St.Louis, Missouri, USA and found that 5% were underweight, 76% normal weight, and 18% overweight (N=764).…”