Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Medical Students at the University of Mosul

Background: Overweight and obesity are important reasons for mortality worldwide, Medical students are further susceptible to obesity due to their daily life with fewer hours of physical activity and disorderly food consumption habits. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence...

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Main Authors: Zaid Muayad Yassen, Anmar B. Al-Dewachi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2024-12-01
Series:Medical Journal of Babylon
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.4103/MJBL.MJBL_940_23
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author Zaid Muayad Yassen
Anmar B. Al-Dewachi
author_facet Zaid Muayad Yassen
Anmar B. Al-Dewachi
author_sort Zaid Muayad Yassen
collection DOAJ
description Background: Overweight and obesity are important reasons for mortality worldwide, Medical students are further susceptible to obesity due to their daily life with fewer hours of physical activity and disorderly food consumption habits. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among medical students at the University of Mosul and to describe related dietary habits and physical activities. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in the College of Medicine University of Mosul. A cross-sectional study design was selected. Messages were sent to 2179 students, and 1520 students agreed to participate with a response rate of 69.76%. A specially designed questionnaire form was filled out by each participant after a brief explanation of the study objectives. Anthropometric were measured including body weight and height. Body mass index was calculated as an indicator of overweight and obesity. Results: This study showed that more than three-quarters of the study population (79.54%) were between 18 and 24 years of age. Overweight and grade I obesity was observed among 21.05% and 4.48% of medical students, respectively. The study showed that overweight and grade I obesity were more prevalent in males than in females (27.66% and 7.09% in males compared to 17.15% and 2.93% in females, respectively) and this difference was found to be statistically highly significant. This study showed that approximately 78% of medical students stated that they practice exercise regularly. Conclusion: Obesity and overweight are more prevalent among male medical students than females.
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spelling doaj-art-afc6723b1a3646aab13ccd8785fc3ed92025-01-17T10:54:56ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsMedical Journal of Babylon1812-156X2312-67602024-12-0121479980310.4103/MJBL.MJBL_940_23Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Medical Students at the University of MosulZaid Muayad YassenAnmar B. Al-DewachiBackground: Overweight and obesity are important reasons for mortality worldwide, Medical students are further susceptible to obesity due to their daily life with fewer hours of physical activity and disorderly food consumption habits. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among medical students at the University of Mosul and to describe related dietary habits and physical activities. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in the College of Medicine University of Mosul. A cross-sectional study design was selected. Messages were sent to 2179 students, and 1520 students agreed to participate with a response rate of 69.76%. A specially designed questionnaire form was filled out by each participant after a brief explanation of the study objectives. Anthropometric were measured including body weight and height. Body mass index was calculated as an indicator of overweight and obesity. Results: This study showed that more than three-quarters of the study population (79.54%) were between 18 and 24 years of age. Overweight and grade I obesity was observed among 21.05% and 4.48% of medical students, respectively. The study showed that overweight and grade I obesity were more prevalent in males than in females (27.66% and 7.09% in males compared to 17.15% and 2.93% in females, respectively) and this difference was found to be statistically highly significant. This study showed that approximately 78% of medical students stated that they practice exercise regularly. Conclusion: Obesity and overweight are more prevalent among male medical students than females.https://doi.org/10.4103/MJBL.MJBL_940_23body mass indexmedical studentsobesityoverweightprevalence
spellingShingle Zaid Muayad Yassen
Anmar B. Al-Dewachi
Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Medical Students at the University of Mosul
Medical Journal of Babylon
body mass index
medical students
obesity
overweight
prevalence
title Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Medical Students at the University of Mosul
title_full Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Medical Students at the University of Mosul
title_fullStr Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Medical Students at the University of Mosul
title_full_unstemmed Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Medical Students at the University of Mosul
title_short Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Medical Students at the University of Mosul
title_sort prevalence of overweight and obesity among medical students at the university of mosul
topic body mass index
medical students
obesity
overweight
prevalence
url https://doi.org/10.4103/MJBL.MJBL_940_23
work_keys_str_mv AT zaidmuayadyassen prevalenceofoverweightandobesityamongmedicalstudentsattheuniversityofmosul
AT anmarbaldewachi prevalenceofoverweightandobesityamongmedicalstudentsattheuniversityofmosul