title: Assessing overweight, obesity, diet, and physical activity in college students.
abstract: The authors surveyed 738 college students aged 18 to 27 years to assess overweight, obesity, dietary habits, and physical activity. They used BMI (body mass index) > or = 25 kg/m2 or BMI > or = 85th percentile and BMI > or = 30 kg/m2 or BMI > or = 95th percentile to estimate overweight and obesity in those aged < or = 19 years. To define overweight and obesity in those > or = 20 years, they used BMI > or = 25 kg/m2 and > or = 30 kg/m2. They found overweight rates of 21.6% using BMI directly and 16.2% using BMI percentile and obesity rates of 4.9% using BMI directly and 4.2% using BMI percentile. More than 69% of the participants reported < 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day and more than 67% reported < 20 g of fiber per day; participants reported physical activity on fewer than 3 d/wk. Most college students are not meeting dietary and physical activity guidelines, suggesting the need for prevention interventions and increased understanding of overweight in college students.
authors.affiliation: Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA. Terry.Huang@tufts.edu
authors.forename: Terry T K
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Kari Jo
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Rebecca E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Niaman
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nazir
authors.forename: Wendi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Born
authors.forename: Harsohena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kaur
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015444:Exercise; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007615:Kansas / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data