Fatores associados ao excesso de peso em universitários

Abstract

Obesity is defined as excess body fat resulting from an imbalance between food intake and energy expenditure. It has assumed great proportions in terms of public health and is one of the aggravating risk factors for the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases.  Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate the factors associated with overweight in university students. Cross-sectional and analytical study with a sample of 220 university students aged between 20 and 59 years at a private university in São Luís, MA. The logistic regression method was used to relate the dependent variable, overweight, to the other independent variables. Respondents were predominantly female (64.5%) and between 20 and 29 years old (96.8%). The most common income was 2 minimum wages (54.1%). Most were sedentary (52.7%), did not consume alcohol (50.4%), and did not smoke (52.3%). Overweight was related to: female gender (p < 0.001), monthly income of 3 minimum wages (p < 0.002), end of study (p < 0.002), and dissatisfaction with body image (p < 0.001).  Overweight seems to be influenced by gender, income, academic period and body dissatisfaction. Discussions on this topic are needed to identify other factors related to overweight in university students.