Research Articles
Physical activity, food choice, and weight management goals and practices among U.S. college students

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-3797(99)00107-5Get rights and content

Abstract

Introduction: Physical activity and a healthy diet have been recommended to help reverse the increasing prevalence of overweight among adolescents and adults in the United States.

Methods: Data is from the 1995 National College Health Risk Behavior Survey. A representative sample of US undergraduate college students (n = 4609) were analyzed to examine associations of physical activity and food choice with weight management goals and practices.

Results: Based on self-reported height and weight, 35% of students were overweight or obese (body mass index ≥ 25.0). Nearly half (46%) of all students reported they were trying to lose weight. Female students were less likely than male students to be overweight, but more likely to be trying to lose weight. Among female and male students, using logistic regression to control for demographics, trying to lose weight was associated with participation in vigorous physical activity and strengthening exercises, and consumption of ≤ 2 servings/day of high-fat foods. Female and male students who reported using exercise to lose weight or to keep from gaining weight were more likely than those who did not to participate in vigorous, strengthening, and moderate physical activity, and were more likely to eat ≥ 5 servings/day of fruits and vegetables and ≤ 2 servings/day of high-fat foods. Among students who were trying to lose weight, only 54% of females and 41% of males used both exercise and diet for weight control.

Conclusion:

Colleges should implement programs to increase student awareness of healthy weight management methods and the importance of physical activity combined with a healthy diet.

Introduction

Overweight and obese adults are at increased risk for mortality and morbidity related to a wide range of chronic diseases, including coronary heart disease, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, gallbladder disease, and some types of cancer.1, 2 Recent estimates of body mass index (BMI) indicate that more than half (54%) of adults, 12% of adolescents, and 14% of children in the United States are overweight.3, 4 Further, the prevalence of overweight in each of these age groups has increased significantly over the past 15 years.3, 4, 5, 6

Recommendations for the long-term treatment and prevention of obesity in adults include multicomponent interventions that combine a healthy diet and exercise with behavior modifications designed to facilitate maintenance of these lifestyle changes throughout the life span.3, 7 National objectives for healthy dietary behaviors and physical activity include increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, reduced consumption of dietary fat, accumulation of at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week, participation in vigorous physical activity that promotes the development of cardiorespiratory fitness for 20 or more minutes at least 3 days per week, and regular performance of physical activities that enhance and maintain muscular strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility.2, 8, 9, 10

A national telephone survey of adults who were trying to lose weight found that 71% of women and 62% of men reported both changing their diets and exercising more.11 Use of low-fat and low-calorie foods was widespread among both women and men. The types of exercise most commonly employed included walking and aerobics classes among women, and walking and weight training among men. Women were more likely than men to engage in potentially harmful and unhealthy (e.g., diet pills, vomiting, and laxatives) weight control practices. A study of high school students participating in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that females who were trying to lose weight limited their intake of high-fat meats, fried foods, and dessert foods; males limited their intake of high-fat dessert foods.12 Consumption of fruits and vegetables was not associated with trying to lose weight among female or male students. Vigorous physical activity and muscle strengthening exercise were associated with trying to lose weight among female students, and trying to gain weight among male students.

Colleges and universities are potentially important settings for reducing the prevalence of overweight in the adult population through the promotion of healthy weight management practices. More than 12 million students currently are enrolled in the nation’s 3600 colleges and universities.13 One in 4 persons aged 18 to 24 years in the United States currently is either a full- or part-time college student,13, 14 and half of all persons aged 20 to 24 years have attended college.15 While overweight and obesity appear to track from childhood into adulthood, overweight during late adolescence is most strongly associated with increased risk of overweight in adulthood.16 Colleges and universities provide numerous opportunities to positively influence physical activity, nutrition, and weight management behaviors of large numbers of older adolescents and young adults in an educational setting.

Although numerous intervention studies have documented the extent to which subjects adhere to prescribed dietary and physical activity regimens during weight loss programs, few population-based observational studies have examined the extent to which persons who are trying to control their weight include fruits and vegetables and limit high-fat foods in their diets, and the extent to which they engage in specific types of physical activity. The 1995 National College Health Risk Behavior Survey (NCHRBS), part of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) implemented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), assessed a broad range of priority health risk behaviors among a nationally representative sample of undergraduate college students attending 2- and 4-year institutions.17 We analyzed data from the 1995 NCHRBS to examine associations of physical activity and food choice with weight management goals and practices. Our study extends the current literature by describing the demographic distribution of overweight and selected weight management goals and practices among US college students, and the types of physical activity and food choices associated with these weight management goals and practices.

Section snippets

Study design

The 1995 NCHRBS, a national mail survey of college students, used a 2-stage cluster sample design to produce a representative sample of undergraduate college students aged ≥ 18 years in the United States. The first-stage sampling frame contained 2919 primary sampling units, consisting of 2- and 4-year colleges and universities. Technical and trade schools or noncollegiate training programs (e.g., truck driving schools, security guard training, and beautician schools) were excluded from the

Results

The school-level response rate was 92% and the student-level response rate was 65%, representing an overall response rate of 60%. Based on weighted prevalence estimates, nearly half (45.6%; 95% CI, ± 3.9%) of all undergraduate students attended 2-year colleges. Compared to students attending 4-year colleges, students attending 2-year colleges were more often aged 25 years or older (51.3% vs 24.1%), of Hispanic ethnicity (9.5% vs 5.1%), employed full time (34.9% vs 13.4%), attending college part

Discussion

Based on self-reported height and weight, 35% of undergraduate college students in the United States were overweight or obese (BMI ≥ 25.0), and nearly half (46%) of all students were trying to lose weight. Female students were less likely than male students to be overweight, but more likely to be trying to lose weight. Among female and male students, trying to lose weight was associated with participation in vigorous physical activity and strengthening exercises, and consumption of fewer

Conclusion

College campuses provide an ideal forum for reaching large numbers of young adults with education and prevention programs that promote healthy weight management. In addition to vigorous physical activity, strengthening exercises, and limited consumption of high-fat foods, students should be encouraged to incorporate moderate physical activity and sufficient consumption of fruits and vegetables into their weight management strategy. Additional efforts to discourage potentially dangerous and

Acknowledgements

Presented in part at the 126th Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, Washington, DC, November, 17, 1998.

References (28)

  • Treatment of obesity in adults

    JAMA

    (1988)
  • Physical activity and healtha report of the surgeon general

    (1996)
  • R.R Pate et al.

    Physical activity and public healtha recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine

    JAMA

    (1995)
  • US Dept of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service. Healthy people 2000: national health promotion and disease...
  • Cited by (321)

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text