Driving home: An analysis of obesity-related behaviors among U.S. college students living on and off campus

Date

12/30/2015

Authors

Garcia, Sophia

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are differences in weight status, aerobic and strength physical activity, sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, and perceived stress about having enough money to buy nutritious meals between United States college students who live on campus and college students who live off campus. A secondary analysis was conducted utilizing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Questionnaire data set. After the inclusion and exclusion criteria were accounted for, N was reduced to 8,967. Using SPSS statistical software, bivariate analyses were conducted to determine significant differences in weight status and obesity-related behaviors and multiple regression analyses were conducted to assess the predictive effect of residential status. Results indicated students who lived off campus had a significantly higher BMI (p < .001) and were significantly less likely to meet the aerobic (p = .005) and strength ( p < .001) exercise requirements compared to those who lived on campus. Residential status was marginally predictive of weight status ( p = .052) and strength exercise (p = .035) when controlling for descriptive variables.

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Keywords

Health and environmental sciences, Education, College students, Obesity, Physical activity, Residential status, Stress, Sugar sweetened beverage

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