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.

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