Assessment of Risk Factors Associated with Obesity among Undergraduate Students
Keywords:
undergraduate students, obesity, sugar-sweetened beverages, physical inactivity, sleep, social jetlag, stressAbstract
Background: University students are under pressures of lifestyle which can increase the risk of obesity. This paper estimated the prevalence of obesity and determined independent behavioral and psychosocial correlates among undergraduate.
Methods: Cross-sectional, stratified cluster sample (n=620 students) 51% female. Diet, physical activity and sedentary time, sleep duration/quality and social jetlag, and perceived stress were measured using validated questionnaires; standardized anthropometry was used to provide BMI and waist. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) were obtained with multivariate logistic regression.
Findings: WHO Asian cut-offs indicated that 23.7% of them were obese and 23.4% met the central obesity criteria. The independent predictors of obesity were physical inactivity (AOR 1.62, 95% CI 1.18-2.23), daily sugar-sweetened beverages (1.54, 1.12-2.11), eating late at night (1.45, 1.06-1.98), breakfast 2 or more times/week (1.38, 1.01-1.89), short sleep (less than 7 hours) (1.47, 1. Active/public commuting was nonsignificant but protective by means of adjustment. The model discrimination was reasonable (AUC 0.78) and estimates strong in sensitivity analyses based on central obesity.
Conclusions: Obesity among students is the product of energy imbalance, circadian disruption, and stress. Sex- and residence-specific multi-component campus policies focusing on beverages, movement, sleep, and stress are justified. Results inform combined student health policies and policy changes on campus.
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