Lifestyle, overweight, and obesity in health science students during the COVID-19 quarantine in Barranquilla (Colombia)

Authors

  • Sebastian Lamadrid Castro Universidad del Norte, Colombia
  • Walid Arana Baquero Centro Terapéutico Reencontrarse, Colombia
  • Eduardo Cuello Cerchiaro Hospital Pablo Tobón Uribe, Colombia
  • Elisa Suárez Carrillo Hospital Pablo Tobón Uribe, Colombia
  • Martha Peñuela Epalza Universidad del Norte, Colombia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14482/sun.39.02.612.986

Keywords:

Lifestyles, Overweight, Obesity, Nutrition, Physical activity, Sedentarism

Abstract

Objective: To describe the prevalence of overweight and obesity in relation to lifestyle factors in undergraduate health sciences students in Barranquilla, Colombia.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out, using an online survey, which included FANTASTICO questionnaire to measure lifestyles and questions to assess body composition and subjective weight change.

Results: 346 undergraduate health science students over 18 years were included; the majority were medical students (74%) and women (69,6%).  The lifestyle was rated as being excellent (6.4%), good (40.2%), fair (32.7%) and bad (20.8%). According to the BMI, excess weight (overweight and obesity) was found in 19.65% (15% overweight and 4.65 with obesity), 9.25% were underweight and 71.10% were normal.  The lifestyle was regular or bad in 53% of men and in the same percentage of women. In the bivariate analysis, excess weight showed a statistically significant association with male sex, poor eating habits (p=0.01), physical inactivity (p=0.02) and alcohol consumption (p<0.001).

Conclusion: During confinement for COVID-19, inappropriate lifestyles prevail in health sciences students, associated with a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity. Reinforcement of health promotion is imperative.

Author Biographies

Sebastian Lamadrid Castro, Universidad del Norte, Colombia

Universidad del Norte. sebastianlamadrid@uninorte.edu.co.
Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1927-7486. CVLAC:

https://scienti.minciencias.gov.co/cvlac/visualizador/generarCurriculoCv.do?cod_rh=0002035308.

Walid Arana Baquero , Centro Terapéutico Reencontrarse, Colombia

MD. Centro Terapéutico Reencontrarse. walida@uninorte.edu.co.
Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0947-5937. CVLAC: https://scienti.minciencias.gov.co/cvlac/visualizador/generarCurriculoCv.do?cod_rh=0001755824.

Eduardo Cuello Cerchiaro, Hospital Pablo Tobón Uribe, Colombia

MD. Hospital Pablo Tobón Uribe. jecuello@uninorte.edu.co. Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9468-3268. CVLAC: https://scienti.minciencias.gov.co/cvlac/visualizador/generarCurriculoCv.do?cod_rh=0002035372.

Elisa Suárez Carrillo, Hospital Pablo Tobón Uribe, Colombia

MD. Hospital Pablo Tobón Uribe. ebsuarez@uninorte.edu.co. Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5068-3028. CVLAC: https://scienti.minciencias.gov.co/cvlac/visualizador/generarCurriculoCv.do?cod_rh=0002035368.

Martha Peñuela Epalza, Universidad del Norte, Colombia

MD, MSc, MS. Universidad del Norte, Departamento de Salud Pública. mpenuela@uninorte.edu.co.
Orcid:  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5159-5540. CVLAC: https://scienti.minciencias.gov.co/cvlac/visualizador/generarCurriculoCv.do?cod_rh=0000176826.

Published

2023-09-18

How to Cite

Lamadrid Castro, S., Arana Baquero , W., Cuello Cerchiaro, E., Suárez Carrillo, E. ., & Peñuela Epalza, M. (2023). Lifestyle, overweight, and obesity in health science students during the COVID-19 quarantine in Barranquilla (Colombia). Salud Uninorte, 39(2), 565–583. https://doi.org/10.14482/sun.39.02.612.986

Issue

Section

Original Article

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