Determinants and variation of total body fat percentage, abdominal fat and waist circumference within and across semesters: a cohort study of Kyambogo University students

Abstract

University students may end up having a high rate of fat accumulation due to a sedentary lifestyle, a decrease in physical activity, and unhealthy dietary habits. This contributes to the rising prevalence of obesity which is linked to a higher risk of developing various chronic diseases. The study's main objective was to examine the determinants and variation of total body fat percentage, abdominal fat and waist circumference of Kyambogo university students within and across three semesters. A longitudinal cohort design was employed and multi-stage simple random sampling was used to select the sample from the university faculties. Data was analysed using the International Business Machines Corporation – Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM -SPSS) software. Chi-square analysis, multinomial logistic regression, and two way repeated Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were carried out all at 0.05 statistical significance. The results revealed that male students were 49.1% less likely to be obese [OR: 0.40, 95% CI 0.16-0.97]. Students who did not consume vitamin A-rich fruits were 2% less likely to be obese [OR: 0.02, 99% CI 0.00-0.19]. Students who carried out less than 150 minutes of physical activity were 48.6% more likely to be obese [OR: 2.74 95% CI 1.15-6.52]. In addition, the total body fat percentage and the waist circumference of the students increased gradually over the semesters. In conclusion, the study showed that the majority of the students did not have a healthy total body fat percentage and recommends that university students should be sensitised on the importance of maintaining a healthy nutritional status and what constitutes a healthy diet.