Prevalence of overweight and obesity and their associated factors among health sciences college students, Saudi Arabia

Context: The healthcare sciences college students have a lifestyle with low physical activity and disordered eating habits, which exposes them to a higher risk of obesity. Health science college students were the target group of particular interest in this study as they are future physicians. If they are overweight or obese, they will carry the wrong impression to the general population. Aim: To assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity among healthcare science college students at private university in Saudi Arabia. Also, it assesses the relationship between the sociodemographic characteristics and risk of overweight and obesity in this population. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare science college students. A validated, structured, closed-ended questionnaire was self-administered through the Monkey survey. All data were analyzed using SPSS. Results: 401 students participated, in which 33.4% were male and 66.6% were female students; and the mean age was 22 years. The study showed that 23.7% of participants were overweight, and 11% were obese. The prevalence of obesity was higher among males. Family history of obesity and fatigue were risk factors for obesity. Conclusion: The healthcare Science College students showed a high prevalence of obesity and overweight. This is strengthening the need to encourage a healthy lifestyle, healthy food habits, and physical activities to avoid obesity-related complications.