Relationship of BMI with the diet, physical activity and oral hygiene practices amongst the dental students

Abstract

Background Regardless of attaining adequate knowledge regarding oral hygiene, physical activity, and healthy eating habits, dental students still face oral health problems. This study was aimed to assess the association of oral hygiene habits, physical activity, and eating habits with the BMI in the dental students. Method This multi centric cross-sectional study was conducted from January to May 2021 in Pakistan. Three hundred and eighty-six study participants enrolled as undergraduate dental students, both males and females, were included in the study. A questionnaire used to gather data, was modified from a study conducted by Jouhar et al. Chi-square testing was used in order to assess the relationship between two categorical variables. Linear regression was performed to assess the association with putative confounders. Statistical significance was considered for p value < 0.05. Results Regarding brushing teeth, 57% of the underweight individuals brushed once daily, 69.8% of the healthy, 79.2% of overweight, and 48% of obese participants brushed twice. Horizontal brushing technique was performed by 50% of the underweight participants, followed by scrub technique. A soft bristled brush was frequently used by underweight (42.9%) and healthy (66%) individuals, while a medium textured bristle brush was used by overweight (62.3%) and obese (54.2%) participants. Majority of the underweight (64.3%), overweight (48.1%), and 45.8% of obese individuals had meals thrice a day, while healthy (62.3%) individuals had meals twice a day. Conclusion This study further intensified the contributing role of having an excessive dietary intake and sugar consumption in causing obesity and dental caries. Findings from the current study, identify a statistically significant relationship that exists between BMI levels with oral hygiene, eating habits and the physical activity.

Caries Experience and Risk Indicators in a Portuguese Population: A Cross-sectional Study

“…Our results also show that body fat based on height and weight measured through BMI also linked significantly to the presence of dental caries, particularly with people with overweight/obesity having higher levels and are consistent with other studies [42][43][44]. It is possible that the increased experience of caries in the overweight and obese groups is due to other factors, such as dietary habits like the consumption of sugary drinks and foods [42,45]. However, even though the results of this study demonstrate a link between higher BMI Index and dental caries a more in-depth understanding of how obesity affects oral health, including dental caries, is necessary because there also findings that suggest a inverse relationship between dental caries experience and obesity [46,47].…”

Caries Experience before and after COVID-19 Restrictions: An Observational Study

“…This trend is particularly visible among individuals classified as overweight or obese, who generally show higher levels of tooth decay, a finding that aligns with other studies [49][50][51]. The increased rate of tooth decay in these groups may be related to the consumption of diets high in sugary drinks and food [52]. Although our study points to a correlation between higher BMI and dental cavities, the complex relationship between obesity and oral health, including tooth decay, warrants further investigation.…”

Combined effect of dietary calcium consumption and physical activity on dental caries in children and adolescents: a study of the NHANES database

“…High free-sugar intake is associated with dental caries, as well as increased weight and body mass index (BMI) [ 10 ]. Physical activity benefits to maintain normal BMI and health status, and however, the conclusions on the relationship between physical activity and dental caries are still ambiguous [ 11 , 12 ]. A mutual etiologic contributing factor between obesity and dental caries is diet high in sugar, where physical activity can burn off the supernumerary energy (mostly roots in carbohydrates) and reduce BMI, and may also be associated with the development of dental caries [ 12 ].…”

“…Physical activity benefits to maintain normal BMI and health status, and however, the conclusions on the relationship between physical activity and dental caries are still ambiguous [ 11 , 12 ]. A mutual etiologic contributing factor between obesity and dental caries is diet high in sugar, where physical activity can burn off the supernumerary energy (mostly roots in carbohydrates) and reduce BMI, and may also be associated with the development of dental caries [ 12 ]. It is worth noting that a systematic review has shown that Ca intake and physical activity may have a combined effect on bone mineral density (BMD) in children and adolescents, that is, in the case of adequate Ca intake, a higher level of physical activity may contribute to bone mass accumulation [ 13 ].…”