Prevalence and correlates of excess body weight in university students

Guedes, Dartagnan Pinto; Silva, André Luís dos Santos

doi:10.1590/1980-0037.2021v23e78433

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Brasil

Revista Brasileira de Cineantropometria & Desempenho Humano

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original article • Rev. bras. cineantropom. desempenho hum. 23 • 2021 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-0037.2021v23e78433 copy

Prevalence and correlates of excess body weight in university students

Prevalência e correlatos do excesso de peso corporal em estudantes universitários

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

abstract –

This study aimed to identify the prevalence of excess body weight in university students from a representative state in Brazil's southern region and establish associations with the demographic, university environment, and health behavior correlates. A random sample of 5,310 university students answered an online questionnaire with demographic, university environment, and eight health behavior data. Excess body weight was identified using the body mass index (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m²). The data were processed using bivariate analysis and hierarchical multiple regression. The overall prevalence of excess body weight exposure was equivalent to 39.1% [35.7-42.6], with significantly different rates between gender, age, and marital status. Likewise, housing type and study year showed significant associations with excess body weight. Among health behavior indicators, with control of all other variables involved in the model, depressive symptoms (p = 0.031), high stress (p = 0.045), sleep duration < 6 hours/night (p < 0.001), moderate-vigorous physical activity < 150 min/week (p = 0.022) and fruit/vegetable consumption < 5 servings per day (p < 0.001) were independently associated with the outcome. However, tobacco use, binge drinking, and prescription drug misuse did not remain in the adjusted multivariate model. In conclusion, the findings emphasize the importance of proposing and implementing multifaceted preventive intervention actions to prevent health outcomes related to excess body weight, once since significant associations with modifiable factors have been identified.

Key words:
Lifestyle; Public health; Health promotion; Student health; Student health services

Questions	Answer options
Depressive Symptoms
Have you ever felt so depressed that it was difficult to function?	“No, never”, “No, not in last 12 months”, Yes, in the last 2 weeks”, Yes, in the last 30 days”, “Yes, in the last 12 months”.
Stress
In the last 12 months, how would you rate the overall level of stress you have experienced?	“No stress”, “Less than average stress”, “Average stress”, “More than average stress”, “Tremendous stress”.
Sleep
On how many of the past seven nights did you get enough sleep so that you felt rested when you woke up in the morning?	“None”, “1 night”, “2 nights”, “3 nights”, “4 nights”, “5 nights”, “6 nights” and “7 nights”.
Physical activity
On how many of the past 7 days did you do moderate-vigorous-intensity cardio or aerobic exercise (caused a noticeable or large increase in breathing or heart rate, such as a brisk walk or jogging) for at least 30 minutes?	“None”, “1 day”, “2 days”, “3 days”, “4 days”, “5 days”, “6 days” and “daily”.
Fruit/vegetable consumption
How many servings of fruits and vegetables do you usually have per day? (1 serving = medium piece of fruit; ½ cup fresh, frozen, or canned fruits/vegetables; ¾ cup fruit/vegetable juice; 1 cup salad greens; or ¼ cup dried fruit).	“None”, “1-2 servings per day”, “3-4 servings per day, “≥ 5 servings per day”.
Tobacco use
In the last 30 days, on how many days did you use tobacco and tobacco products (for example, cigarettes, e-cigarettes, hookah, cigarillo, little cigars, clove cigarettes, or smokeless tobacco)?	“None”, “1-2 days”, “3-5 days”, “6-9 days”, “10-19 days”, “20-29 days” and “Used daily”.
Binge drinking
Over the last two weeks, how many times have you had five or more drinks of alcohol at a sitting?	“None”, “1 time”, “2 times”, “3 times”, “4 times”, “5 times”, and “6 or more times”.
Prescription drug misuse
In the last 12 months, have you taken any of the following prescription drugs that were not prescribed to you (antidepressants, erectile dysfunction drugs, pain killers, sedatives, or stimulants)?	“No” and “Yes”.

Indicators	n (%)	Indicators	n (%)
Demographic data		University environment data
Gender		Housing type
Female	2,029 (38.2%)	Students’ residence	1,285 (24.2%)
Male	3,281 (61.8%)	Parents’ home	2,804 (52.8%)
Age		Homestay	1,094 (20.6%)
≤ 20 years	1,543 (29.1%)	Alone	127 (2.4%)
21-25 years	2,078 (39.1%)	Campus size
≥ 26 years	1,689 (31.8%)	< 1,500 students	1,113 (21,0%)
Skin color		1,500 – 3,000 students	2,195 (41.3%)
White	3,266 (61.5%)	> 3,000 students	2,002 (37.7%)
Black	2,044 (38.5%)	Year of study
Marital status		1^st	1,714 (32.1%)
Single	4,152 (78.2%)	2^nd-3^rd	1,933 (36.4%)
Married/Common law marriage	1,158 (21.8%)	4^th or more	1,673 (31.5%)
Paid work		Study shift
No work	1,980 (37.3%)	Day	3,362 (63.3%)
Part time	1,227 (23.1%)	Night	1,948 (36.7%)
Full time	2,103 (39.6%)
Health behavior data
Depression (last 12 months)		Fruit and vegetable consumption
Never or not in the last 12 months	3,978 (74.9%)	≥ 5 servings per day	690 (13.0%)
Yes	1,332 (25.1%)	0–4 servings per day	4,620 (87.0%)
Stress (last 12 months)		Tobacco use
None, less than average, or average	3,260 (61.4%)	Never used or not used in the last 30 days	4,508 (84.9%)
More than average or tremendous	2,050 (38.6%)	Used 1-2 times/day to used daily	802 (15.1%)
Enough sleep (past 7 nights)		Prescription drug misuse (last 12 months)
≥ 4 nights	2,315 (43.6%)	No	4,593 (86.5%)
0–3 nights	2,995 (56.4%)	Yes	717 (13.5%)
Physical activity		Binge drinking (last 2 weeks)
≥ 5 days/week	1,280 (24,1%)	No	3,430 (64.6%)
0–4 days/week	4,030 (75,9%)	Yes	1,880 (35.4%)

Indicators	% (95% CI)	Indicators	% (95% CI)
Demographic data		University environment data
Gender	χ² = 23.726; p < 0.001	Housing type	χ² = 10.158; p < 0.001
Female	25.2 (22.4 – 28.1)	Students’ residence	45.3 (41.4 – 49.3)
Male	47.6 (43.5 – 51.8)	Parents’ home	34.9 (31.8 – 38.0)
Age	χ² = 10.827; p < 0.001	Homestay	42.2 (38.5 – 46.1)
≤ 20 years	34.7 (31.6 – 37.9)	Alone	42.9 (39.1 – 46.9)
21-25 years	37.5 (34.2 – 40.8)	Campus size	χ² = 2.083; p = 0.217
≥ 26 years	45.1 (41.2 – 49.1)	< 1,500 students	37.1 (33.9 – 40.4)
Skin color	χ² = 1.924; p = 0.235	1,500 – 3,000 students	38.9 (35.5 – 42.4)
White	38.2 (34.9 – 41.6)	> 3,000 students	40.5 (36.9 – 44.2)
Black	40.5 (36.9 – 44.2)	Year of study	χ² = 11.429; p < 0.001
Marital status	χ² = 11.682; p < 0.001	1^st	34.2 (31.2 – 37.3)
Single	36.8 (33.6 – 40.1)	2^nd-3^rd	38.7 (35.3 – 42.2)
Married/Common law marriage	47.3 (43.3 – 51.5)	4^th or more	44.4 (40.6 – 48.3)
Work for pay	χ² = 8.836; p = 0.025	Study shift	χ² = 2.395; p = 0.209
No work	35.0 (31.9 – 38.2)	Day	37.7 (34.4 – 41.1)
Part time	39.4 (36.0 – 42.9)	Night	41.6 (37.9 – 45.4)
Full time	42.8 (39.0 – 46.7)
Health behavior data
Depression	χ² = 9.262; p = 0.024	Fruit and vegetable consumption	χ² = 11.047; p < 0.001
Never or not in last 12 months	37.1 (33.9 – 40.4)	≥ 5 servings per day	30.5 (27.6 – 33.6)
Yes	45.2 (41.3 – 49.3)	0–4 servings per day	40.4 (36.9 – 44.1)
Stress	χ² = 6.873; p = 0.049	Tobacco use	χ² = 5,174; p = 0.071
None, less than average	36.5 (33.3 – 39.80	Not used in last 30 days	38.4 (35.1 – 41.8)
More than average	43.2 (39.4 – 47.2)	Used 1-2 times/day to used daily	43.1 (39.3 – 47.0)
Enough sleep	χ² = 11.836; p < 0.001	Prescription drug misuse	χ² = 5.672; p = 0.064
≥ 4 nights	33.8 (30.8 – 36.9)	No	39.0 (35.6 – 42.5)
0–3 nights	44.1 (40.3 – 48.1)	Yes	43.8 (40.0 – 47.8)
Physical activity	χ² = 8.493; p = 0.031	Binge drinking	χ² = 3.638; p = 0.128
≥ 5 days/week	33.4 (30.4 – 36.6)	No	37.8 (34.5 – 41.2)
0–4 days/week	40.9 (37.3 – 44.7)	Yes	41.5 (37.8 – 45.4)

Correlates	OR _Adjusted (CI_95%) ^a a Odds ratio adjusted for the other variables included in the model.	p-value
Block 1 - Demographic data
Gender
Female	Reference
Male	2.19 (1.52 – 3.68)	< 0.001
Age
≤ 20 years	Reference
21-25 years	1.24 (0.86 – 2.12)	0.106
≥ 26 years	1.81 (1.28 – 2.93)	0.003
Marital status
Single	Reference
Married/Common law marriage	1.87 (1.33 – 3.07)	0.001
Block 2 - University environment data
Housing type
Students’ residence	1.74 (1.22 – 2.91)	0.009
Parents’ home	Reference
Homestay	1.58 (1.08 – 2.69)	0.025
Alone	1.52 (1.03 – 2.84)	0.038
Year of study
1^st	Reference
2^nd-3^rd	1.23 (0.86 – 2.11)	0.110
4^th or more	1.64 (1.13 – 2.79)	0.019
Block 3 - Health behavior data
Depression
Never or not in last 12 months	Reference
Yes	1.53 (1.06 – 2.71)	0.031
Stress
None, less than average	Reference
More than average	1.48 (1.02 – 2.64)	0.045
Enough sleep
≥ 4 nights	Reference
0–3 nights	1.94 (1.35 – 3.27)	< 0.001
Physical activity
≥ 5 days/week	Reference
0–4 days/week	1.59 (1.11 – 2.71)	0.022
Fruit and vegetable consumption
≥ 5 servings per day	Reference
0–4 servings per day	2.08 (1.46 – 3.57)	< 0.001

Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Universitário Trindade, Centro de Desportos - RBCDH, Zip postal: 88040-900 - Florianópolis, SC. Brasil, Fone/fax : (55 48) 3721-8562/(55 48) 3721-6348 - Florianópolis - SC - Brazil
E-mail: rbcdh@contato.ufsc.br

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[1] Corresponding author Dartagnan Pinto Guedes Center for Research in Health Sciences, University of Northern Parana Avenida Paris 675, Jardim Piza, 86041-100, Londrina (PR), Brasil. E-mail: darta@sercomtel.com.br