Comparison of Lifestyle Patterns and Body Weight Management Practices Between Normal Weight and Obese Female University Students (Riyadh – Saudi Arabia)

Nutrition, Metabolism, and Prevention of NCDs
DOI https://doi.org/10.51745/najfnr.1.1.11-19
Issue Vol. 1 No. 1 (2017): January - June 2017
Submitted 2017-04-30
Published 2017-07-03

Copyright © 2017 Authors

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

  • Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.
  • No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Crossmark
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

Background: According to a national survey in 2014, the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Saudi women is reaching 33.5%. Instead of adopting healthy lifestyle, this population may adopt some weight management practices (WMP) which might be unhealthy and some could lead to serious health issues. 

Aim:  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:  Through a cross-sectional study among female students at Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University (PNU) (Riyadh – KSA.), 200 participants were conveniently selected, assigned in two groups in obese and normal weight (each group have 100 students) based on their BMI according to the WHO cut-off values. Data collected through questionnaire and analysis was performed using SPSS program, Chi-square and t-test were used to assess the difference between the two groups.

Results: Unhealthy WMP were high among obese students. Total calorie intake was not different; however, fat intake was higher in obese group (p<0.01). Level of moderate active was 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 inadequate nutritional intake and unhealthy dietary habits. Increasing awareness about the healthy lifestyle to manage weight is urgently needed.

Keywords

Weight Practice Management Obesity Female University Students Saudi Arabia
  • Amera Alqahtani
    Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671
  • Munirah Aloraini
    Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671
  • Areej Alsubaie
    Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671
  • Arwa Alateq
    Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671
  • Beshair Alsagabi
    Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671
  • Nada Benajiba
    Department of Health Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671

How to Cite

Alqahtani, A. ., Aloraini, M., Alsubaie, A., Alateq, A. ., Alsagabi, B. ., & Benajiba, N. . (2017). Comparison of Lifestyle Patterns and Body Weight Management Practices Between Normal Weight and Obese Female University Students (Riyadh – Saudi Arabia). The North African Journal of Food and Nutrition Research, 1(1), 11-19. https://doi.org/10.51745/najfnr.1.1.11-19
More Citation Formats

1. Williams, S. R., & Worthington-Roberts, B. S. (1996). Nutrition throughout the life cycle (3rd ed.). Mosby.

2. Ziglio, E., Currie, C., & Rasmussen, V. B. (2004). The WHO cross-national study of health behavior in school-aged children from 35 countries: Findings from 2001–2002. Journal of School Health, 74(6), 204–206. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1561.2004.tb07933.x

3. Othlings, U. N., Ford, J. E., Oger, K. R., & Boeing, H. (2010). Lifestyle factors and mortality among adults with diabetes: Findings from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition–Potsdam study. Journal of Diabetes, 2(2), 112–117. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-0407.2010.00067.x

4. Reddy, P., Rankins, D., Timoshanko, A., & Dunbar, J. A. (2011). Life in Australia: Translating prevention research into a large-scale intervention. British Journal of Diabetes & Vascular Disease, 11(4), 193–197. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474651411410724

5. Al-Rethaiaa, A. S., Fahmy, A. A., & Al-Shwaiyat, M. N. (2010). Obesity and eating habits among college students in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study. Nutrition Journal, 9, Article 39. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-9-39

6. Memish, Z. A., El Bcheraoui, C., Tuffaha, M., Robinson, M., Daoud, F., Jaber, S., Mikhitarian, S., Al Saeedi, M., & AlMazroa, M. A. (2014). Obesity and associated factors—Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2013. Preventing Chronic Disease, 11, Article 140236. https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd11.140236

7. Rasheed, P., Abou-Hozaifa, B. M., & Khan, A. (1994). Obesity among young Saudi female adults: A prevalence study on medical and nursing students. Public Health, 108(4), 289–294. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0033-3506(05)80073-4

8. Huang, T. T., Harris, K. J., Lee, R. E., Nazir, N., Born, W., & Kaur, H. (2003). Assessing overweight, obesity, diet, and physical activity in college students. Journal of American College Health, 52(2), 83–86. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448480309595728

9. Albassam, R., Abdel Gawwad, E., & Khanam, L. (2007). Weight management practices and their relationship to knowledge, perception and health status of Saudi females attending diet clinics in Riyadh city. Journal of the Egyptian Public Health Association, 82(1–2), 173–201.

10. World Health Organization. (2000). Obesity: Preventing and managing the global epidemic—Report of a WHO consultation on obesity. World Health Organization.

More

Similar Articles

81-90 of 157

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Most read articles by the same author(s)

Downloads 842

-

Views 1843

-

Country (Top 10)