Prevalence of Obesity and Physical Inactivity among Biomedical College Students in a Nigerian University
Akinremi Ayodele, Sanya Arinola, and Makinde James
Physiotherapy Department, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
Email: ogooluwa2@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
Problem Statement: College years expose young adults to unhealthy lifestyle changes. With the rising global disease burden associated with physical inactivity and obesity, there is a need to investigate health-related behaviours in college students. The aims of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of physical inactivity and obesity among first and final year college students in selected healthcare professions; and to compare the prevalence between the two classes.
Approach: A descriptive study involving 182 participants (86 males and 96 females) between the ages of 16 and 31 years was carried out. Physical activity level was assessed using the self-administered International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAC- long format); while obesity was evaluated using the World Health Organization obesity classification.
Results: The prevalence of physical inactivity in the study population was high (49.5%): 44% and 55% among first and final year students respectively. Prevalence of obesity among study population was nil, but 27 participants (14.9 %) were overweight; out of which 23 (89% of the overweight population) were first year students and 8 (30% of the overweight students) were physically inactive. Comparison between the two levels of study showed no significant difference in the prevalence of physical inactivity; but the first year students had a significantly higher proportion of overweight students than the final year students.
Conclusion and Recommendation: A high prevalence of physical inactivity was observed in this study which suggests that a high percentage of students in this study had less physical activity than recommended by health authorities. Hence, efforts should be made to reinforce physical activity among this population.