Body mass index, aerobic fitness, and eating habits for affiliated colleges students to King Fahd University at Hafr AL Batin: cross sectional study.
Abstract
Objectives: the objectives of this study were 1) determine prevalence of overweight, obesity, aerobic fitness and eating habits among male college students. 2) Find correlation between their body composition status- Body Fat Percent (%BF) and Body Mass Index (BMI)- with their aerobic fitness (VO2max).
Methods: a cross sectional study was conducted in Hafr Albatin Community Colleges (HBCC) Which was affiliated to (KFUPM) in (KSA). A number of (244) male students aged (18-26) years were chosen by the purposive non-random sampling method. Students filled out a self-reported questionnaire on their eating habits. Also (VO2max), (BF%) and (BMI) were measured.
Results: The results revealed that half of the college students were above normal weight (49.18%) - overweight students represented (22.95%) and (26.23%) were obese. Moreover significant and strong correlation (P > 0.05) between (BMI) and (BF%) reached to 0.751. VO2max level among them was good (46.38+7.94 ml/kl/min) and there was a reverse significant correlation between both %BF & BMI with Vo2max (-0.403, -0.401) respectively. Eating habits revealed that most of the students have bad eating habits.
Conclusion: universities and colleges environment are an opportunity for nutritional education of many students to reduce the tendency of overweight and obesity, to promote healthy eating habits as well as to encourage them to improve their aerobic capacity and body composition status.
Keywords: (%BF), (BMI), (VO2max), Eating habits.