Factors affecting the BMI of Health- Care students of FHCS

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity, mostly due to various behavioral and lifestyle factors are a burden on the population. Overweight and obesity are recognized as the cause of many health related complications. Unhealthy dietary practices such as fast food consumption, high fat and salt intake, lack of exercise and sedentary life style lead to excess weight gain. The study aimed to identify the factors affecting the BMI of Healthcare students of Faculty of Health-Care Sciences, Eastern University, Sri Lanka. The study design was descriptive-cross sectional study. The study was conducted at the faculty premises of FHCS, EUSL. Study population was students of FHCS. The sample size was calculated according to the Cochran’s(1977) formula. According to the formula, sample size was 255. A self-administered questionnaire in English language assessed the socio-demographic characters, dietary habits and exercise habits. Weight, height and waist circumference (WC) were measured and compared with Asian anthropometric cut-offs for Body Mass Index (BMI) and WC. Variables were analyzed using statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 26. Out of 287 participants, the percentages of those obese, pre-obese, overweight and underweight were 4.9%, 11.1%, 17.8% and 16.7% respectively. 18.5% of the students had the abdominal obesity; while 19.6% of the female students had it, only about 16.1% male students had it. Males consumed significantly more of unhealthy foods such as fast foods, carbonated drinks like soda, bottled fruit juices, packet drinks and chips had a higher percentage of obesity compared to females. The findings of this study showed that the nearly half of the participants were within the normal range of BMI and one third had excess body weight. One sixth of the participants were underweight and among underweight category significant higher percentage (87.5%) were female. Moreover, the unhealthy dietary practices more common among males who had high percentages of obesity. The distribution of BMI categories among the surveyed students indicates that almost half of the participants fall within the normal BMI range, while one third have high BMI category and one sixth have low BMI category. Abdominal obesity is seen in nearly one fifth of the participants and it is common in females. According to the study, it can be concluded that consuming fast food has a high tendency among the students. A significantly higher amount of fast foods are consumed by male students than female students. Participants consume less amount of fresh vegetables and fresh fruits. The data indicates a low level of consistent engagement in physical activities among students. Therefore, the appropriate awareness programs could be initiated among this target population to reduce the excess bodyweight and encourage them to follow the healthy dietary practices.