Abstract
Background and objectives: Introduction: The prevalence of overweight and obesity among Saudi women is reaching 44%. Instead of adopting healthy lifestyle, this population may adopt some weight management practices (WMP) which may be unhealthy and some may lead to serious health problem Objectives: To compare lifestyle patterns and WMP adopted by obese and normal weight Saudi females by assessing the difference in energy and macronutrients intake, dietary habits, level of physical activity and WMP. Methods: Cross sectional study among female students at Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University (PNU) (Riyadh - KSA.), 200 participants were randomly selected, assigned in two groups in obese and normal weight (each group have 100 students) depending on BMI. Data collected through questionnaire and analysis was performed using SPSS program, Chi2 and T-test were used to assess the difference between the two groups. Results: Uunhealthy WMP were high among obese students. Total calorie intake was not different, however fat intake was significantly higher in obese group (p<0.01). Level of moderate active was significantly higher in normal group than obese group (33% versus 19%, respectively). Food frequency consumption showed that fruit, date and dressing were higher in obese group compared to normal weight group (p-value = 0.02, 0.01 and 0.03). Conclusions: Obese PNU female students adopt unhealthy WMP besides their nutritional intake and dietary habits are not healthy. Increasing awareness about the healthy lifestyle to manage weitht is urgently needed.