Socio-economic factors and prevalence of underweight and overweight among female students in Poland

The aim of the work was to assess the prevalence of underweight among young women and to analyse factors contributing to this phenomenon. The study group consisted of 718 female students aged 18-24 years. Underweight, overweight and obesity was classified according to BMI and WHO criteria. To assess the socio-economic status (SES), place of residence before entering the university and education of parents were used. Variables characterising lifestyle such as sports activity, cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking were also taken into account. In the studied group, the prevalence of underweight was much higher than the prevalence of overweight and obesity (15.3% and 3.5%, respectively). Low BMI was more frequent among persons with higher SES. Moreover, it was noted that 70% of women having normal weight (BMI = 18.50-24.99 kg/m(2)) wanted to have slimmer figure. No correlation was found between prevalence of very low body mass and lifestyle variables. (C) 2007 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.