Body mass index, eating habits and physical activity among dietetics students in Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin
University life is a critical period of change in eating habits. Weight gain is a serious problem among youths who are experiencing a change in university life. Universities are potentially important settings for promotion of healthy diet and weight management practice for healthy future. Presen...
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Main Authors: | , |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2020
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://eprints.unisza.edu.my/7467/1/FH02-FSK-20-48316.pdf http://eprints.unisza.edu.my/7467/ |
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Summary: | University life is a critical period of change in eating habits. Weight gain is
a serious problem among youths who are experiencing a change in
university life. Universities are potentially important settings for promotion
of healthy diet and weight management practice for healthy future.
Present study aimed to assess physical activity, eating habits and their
association with body mass index (BMI) in dietetics students at Universiti
Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA). A total of 126 students were involved in
answering a set of survey questions as well as weight and height
measurements. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. Result
showed that, 9.5% of dietetics students were obese and 25.4% were
overweight. Breakfast was the most frequently skipped meal (71.4%) with
the main reason of time management followed by busyness in attending
lectures and doing readings. Majority of students (73%) will take a snack
when they skipped their meal time. Most of the students consume fruits
sometimes (55.6%) and 37.3% of them also consume vegetables
sometimes. Most of the students (37.3%) consumes fast food one to three
times per month. More than half of the students (59.5%) prefer to eat with
friends. Majority of students have moderate physical activity (42.9%).
However, this study also did not show association between physical
activity, eating habits and BMI. In a nutshell, health programs are
necessary to create awareness of nutrition and a healthy lifestyle among
youth as the arising of obesity incidence among youth is worrying. |
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