Investigation of The Relationship Between Healthy Life Style Behaviors and Body Mass Index of University Students

Abstract

Aim: Obesity is one of the most important health problems in this century that affects many people of all ages and genders in the world. Particularly, the irregular eating habits of students, their orientation towards fast-foods and their sedentary lives are some of the reasons that trigger obesity as health problem. Therefore, more importance should be given to this topic and to get rid of obesity and lead a healthy life to prevent complications related to obesity in the population in adulthood. This study was carried out to determine the relationship between healthy lifestyle behaviors and body mass index of university students. Method: The sample of the study included 632 students from Inonu University in the 2017-2018 academic year. A 20-question personal information form, anthropometric measurements and Healthy Lifestyle Scale (HLSS) were used to collect data. The data was analyzed by using independent sample t-test, Mann Whitney-U test, one-way Analysis of Variance and Kruskal Wallis-H test. Results: The primary finding of the study is that inadequate physical activity and irregular dietary habits may affect stress level of the students. Moreover, when the relationship between the body mass index (BMI) and HLSS sub-dimensions of university students were analyzed, a statistically significant difference was found among BMI and sub-dimensions of dietary habits and health responsibility. Conclusion: It can be concluded that physical activity and balanced diet play key roles in health. To avoid obesity and related complications in adulthood, University students should avoid consuming fast-food and increase their physical activity levels during their youth