OBESITY PARAMETERS IN FEMALE MEDICAL STUDENTS

Abstract

Abstract Introduction.The behavioral patterns, eating habits and participation in physical activities of university students have important influence on body composition of this young population group. The aim of this study was to determine the level of overweight and obesity in female medical students and level of physical activity. Material and methods. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Faculty of Medicine, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje between December 2019 and April 2020. A total of 308 girls, students of the 1st and 2nd year of study, underwent body composition testing with InBody 720 bioimpedance analyzer. International physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ) was used for determining the level of physical activity. Results. The average age of participants was 19.4  1.1 years, and the mean values for obesity parameters were as followed: BMI = 22.5  4.3 kg/m2 ; BF% = 28.3  8.5; WHR= 0.87  0.07. One third of students had normal body fat percentage (34.5%) and waist-to-hip ratio (33.3%). Two thirds of students showed normal BMI, and 14.6% of girls were overweight while 6% were obese according to BMI. The greatest percentage of students, 60% of girls, showed BF% and WHR higher than normal values. Conclusion. Analysis of obesity parameters derived from bioimpedance analyzer – (BIA) showed that BMI parameter was less sensitive to level of obesity than BF% and WHR. The findings revealed that more than half of the young female medical students were overweight and/or obese. Key words: obesity, body mass index, body fat, waist to hip ratio, students