Abstract
Background: The purpose of this study is to assess the prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity and to evaluate the nutritional habits and related factors among Jazan University students.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out during the 2014/2015 academic year in Jazan University in wGizan in the southwest of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). A total of 436 students 19-25 years were examined. The questionnaire involved items on eating habits, lifestyle and socio-demographic characteristics; these were completed by the students. Data on weight and height were also collected. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and a Chi-square test. The differences were considered statistically significant at p-value < 0.05.
Results: The mean weight for males and females were 67.84 and 54.79 kg, respectively, with significant differences between males and females (p-value < 0.05). The mean BMI for all study participants was reported as 23.31 kg/m(2) with a significant difference according to gender. About 45% of the students were normal weight; the rate of underweight and obesity among students was very high (21.1% and 33.6% respectively). The dietary habits were unhealthy. The regularity of meals was only 16.5% and 20.4% and reported snacking during the day was 83.3% and 95.1% for males and females, respectively.
Conclusion: The results show that the prevalence of overweightness and obesity were very high among the university students. The study shows the need for health education programs to increase student's awareness towards healthy eating and lifestyle changes.