A Study of Prevalence of Obesity among Female Students in Sohag University

Abdou, Farida S; Elnahhas, Ahmed F; Mohammed, Eman R; Mohammed, Nesreen Ali

doi:10.21608/smj.2018.41810

A Study of Prevalence of Obesity among Female Students in Sohag University

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Sohag University.

² public health and community medicine department, faculty of medicine, Sohag University, sohag, egypt.

³ department, of Public Health and Community Medicine-Sohag University.

10.21608/smj.2018.41810

Abstract

Introduction: Obesity is a medical case in which extra body fat has stored to the extent that it may have a harmful effect on health. People are generally measured obese when their body mass index (BMI), ameasurement obtained by dividing aperson's weight by the square of the person's height, is over 30 kg/m2, with the range 25–30 kg/m2 defined as overweight. Some East Asian countries use lower values.
Aim of the work: Find out the prevalence of overweight and obesity among female students in Sohag University, and identify important risk factors.
Patients and Methods: Cross sectional study, included a sample of female students aged 17-25 in the selected faculties in Sohag University, the study was carried out in Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Nursery and Faculty of Education in Sohag University, the questionnaire was divided into five parts, the demography, dietary habits, physical activity, perceptions of body weight and beliefs of obesity and the record of self-reported and actual anthropometric body measurements.
Results: Overweight and obesity were prevalent among the our study subjects as the prevelance was 38.5%, lack of physical activity, soft drink consumpton and marital status were significantly associated with obesity, our students preferred dairy products and fatty foods over vegetables and fruits. In addition, their “lack of time” was the most frequently mentioned barrier to eating a healthy diet and engaging in regular exercise. Life style modification is important to improve healthy habits earlier in life.
Conclusion: Overweight and obesity were prevalent among the our study subjects as the prevelance was 38.5%.

Keywords

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