Assessment of the Nutritional, Health and Socioeconomic status of female students at Faculty of Science and Arts in Northern Border University, Saudi Arabia By

Abstract

Food habits and healthy behaviors are among the main public health concerns of female students at the university, and the research aims to assess the nutritional, health, social and economic status of female students of the College of Sciences and Arts at Northern Border University,150randomly selected female students between the ages of 19-25 years were evaluated. Weights and heights were taken, body mass index was calculated, and some medical analyzes were done, including cholesterol (CHO), triglycerides (TGL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), hemoglobin(Hb),and some questionnaires were conducted to assess the nutritional, health and economic status of the students and SPSS 21 software was used to analyze the data. The mean and standard deviation of the highest BMI (28.5175 ± 3.78) for the age group (1920) and the lowest (26,054 ± 5.29) for the age group (21-22). The income level for the entire sample was average (60%) and the Rehab Raafat Abdelrazek 78 highest income (69.3%) was for the age group (21-22), and the lowest (5.3%) was for the age group (19-20). The results showed that (58%) of the female students did not eat breakfast, (57.3%) did not eat vegetables and fruits on a daily basis, and (55.3%) drank carbonated water, and the results showed that (40.7%) of the females drink tea some of the time. The female students were overweight compared to (6%) who are underweight, and there is a high significance (P = 0.004) between the levels of BMI for the female students, and the results showed a significant presence (P > 0.01) between HDL-C and BMI, and the significance (P <0.0001) between WBC and BMI for female students. The study concluded that most college students have poor eating habits, and as a recommendation, the university is encouraged to introduce nutritional programs to raise awareness among female students.