Body fat percentage associated with demographic, clinical, and academic factors in students of a public university

Gómez-Luján M.P.; Pesantes-Shimajuko S.M.; Ñazco G.S.C.; Pérez-Valdez C.L.; Hilario-Vargas J.; Leitón-Espinoza Z.E. · Salud Uninorte (2023) · DOI: 10.14482/sun.39.02.258.115

Resumen

Objective: To determine the association between age, gender, professional career, and personal history of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity, concerning % GC in undergraduate students of a Peruvian public university. Methods: Descriptive, analytical, cross-sectional study. Students of health, education, and social sciences of the National University of Trujillo were evaluated. For bivariate analysis, t-student or ANOVA was used in the case of normal distribution, and for those without normal distribution, Mann-Whitney U or Kruskal Wallis was used. Pearson’s or Spearman’s test was used to determine the correlation between numerical variables and % GC, according to normal distribution. For multivariate analysis, multiple linear regression was applied. Informed consent was obtained from each participant, with approval from the Ethics Com-mittee nº. 2019/CE/FAC/ENF. Results: 390 students participated. The median age was 19 years [18-20], 72.6 % were female, and most were healthy (58.7 %). The most frequent personal history was obesity (10.77 %). The median % GC was 26.35 % [20.78-30.2]. In the bivariate analysis, there was a significant association between % GC with gender (p<0.001), personal history of HTA (p=0.041), and obesity (p<0.001). In the multivariate analysis remained with significant association with gender (p<0.001) being higher % GC in women, and personal history of obesity (p<0.001). Conclusions: Female gender and history of obesity were factors associated with % GC in university students, a population group at risk that requires healthy lifestyle programs.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional de Trujillo