NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND SOME RELATED FACTORS IN MEDICAL STUDENTS

Abstract

Background: Today, the global challenge of malnutrition encompasses both undernutrition and overweight, particularly prevalent in low and middle-income nations. Excessive body fat accumulation poses health risks for overweight and obese individuals. Objectives: To assess nutritional status and identify related factors among Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy (CTUMP) medical students. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 137 first-year medical students at CTUMP to evaluate their body fat percentage using the Harpenden Skinfold Caliper. Skinfold measurements were taken from the bicipital, tricipital, subscapular, and suprailiac sites. Furthermore, physical activity levels were classified using the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) consisting of 16 questions on 4 domains. The research was carried out at CTUMP from December 2022 to June 2023. Results: Compared to urban areas, a higher percentage of male students engage in physical activity in rural areas; however, this trend is not observed among female students. Additionally, female students exhibited thicker skin folds in four areas (biceps, triceps, suprailiac, and subscapular) compared to male students. Conversely, the fold thickness in the suprailiac region was greater in female students. The mean body fat percentage was 20.40±4.61% in male students and 30.48±4.32% in female students. Non-obese students comprised the majority in this study, with 84.3% of male students being non-obese. Among female students, 53.7% were classified as obese and 46.3% as non-obese. There was insufficient evidence to indicate differences between residential student groups and physical activity levels. Conclusions: The study reveals that the majority of participating students are non-obese. Furthermore, the average body fat percentage among women is found to be higher compared to both men and the general population. However, there is inadequate evidence to show variances among student groups residing in diverse areas or partaking in varying levels of physical activity.