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

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

Rehab Raafat Abdelrazek

Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Food Sciences - faculty of Science and Arts - Northern Border University, Saudi Arabia

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 (19-20) 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 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.

 Keywords: Nutritional status - health status - science and arts students Northern Border University

Introduction

The role of nutrition in overall health is well established. Decisions made regarding food and beverage intake during each portion of the life cycle have both immediate and long-term health outcomes. Specifically, nutrition choices during the traditional college years, including late adolescence and early adulthood, have been linked to cardiovascular health later in life. For example, adequate intake of fruits and vegetables during college years was associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular events decades’ later (Liu et al., 2012(

It was found that more than (56.0%) skipped breakfast and (76.0%) ate between meals (Omage, Kingsley and Omuemu, Vivian O, 2018(

The results revealed that nearly 70 per cent of the adults have no regular meal routine per day (Nasir, Jamal Abdul and Tahir, M. H.2017 (

            (Durán-Agüero S et al.; 2015(it was found thatConsumption ≥ 2 servings a day of fruits is a protective factor for a good BMI Chilean university students in physical education.

 ) Musaiger AO et al.,2016) stated that of the students among university students in Sudan, 20.5, 14.7, and 1.7 % were underweight, overweight and obese, respectively. The majority of students (85.5 %) consumed breakfast daily. About 45 and 21.8 % of students consumed vegetables and fruit, respectively, on more than 3 days a week. Fast food was consumed significantly more (p < 0.01) for more than 3 days per week by females (44.2 %) than males (27.3(% .

( Al-Shehri et al.,2017(analyzed of Assessment of lifestyle and eating habits among undergraduate students in Najran University, Saudi Arabia, where it was found   Two-thirds of them had between 1 and 2 weekly servings of fruit and vegetables, more than half choosing the less healthy food, fast food in particular, and about one-third only having a regular healthy breakfast on a daily basis

 A study (El-Qudah, et al., 2012) found that Females indicated a higher rate in the utilization of desserts and chocolates on regular routine (28.4 and 29.7%, individually) contrasted with guys (18.1 and 16.6%, separately) (p<0.05). (Among a Sample of Saudi College Students in the north western city of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia   

A significant proportion of female students at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz have reported to consume energy drinks regularly with several adverse effects (Rahamathulla, M. P, 2017(

It was reported (Sátiro Vieira,et al ,2017) that the majority of university students were females (66.2%), and the prevalence of overweight was 20.4%. Students ranked in the intermediate and higher socioeconomic levels 2.86 and 3.46 presented the most chance of developing overweight, respectively

 (Khabaz, M. N.;et al.,2017 stated thatwere obese, (29.3%) were overweight and (41.4%) had normal body mass index. Overall, (57%) participants were taking 3 to 4 fast food meals weekly and was also taking junk food at least once in a day of King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

A study (Abdelhafez, A. M.and Al-Mashi, S. S. M, 2013() found that the prevalence of overweight and obesity among the studied students was 25% (19.2%, were overweight and 5.8% were obese among Umm Al-Qura University Female Students in Makkah, Saudi Arabia

            Another study showed relatively alarming prevalence of overweight/obesity, unhealthy dietary practices, and lifestyle behaviors that should be targeted and modified. (Al-Shehri et al., 2017(high ingestion of starches builds the opportunity of high Body Fat and Overweight, and a high admission of protein and lipids expands the danger of high Body Fat.( Pi RA,  et al., 2015 (

Hemodynamic changes after intake of energy drinks in obese subjects indicate that obesity and energy drinks could synergistically induce harmful effects. (Ahmed Alsunni et al., 2015( the aim of this study to assess the nutritional status, Health and Socioeconomic status of students of the College of Science and Arts, Northern Border University

Materials and Methods

Materials

A kilogram weighing balance ranging from 1 – 150 kilogram. Height was measured using a centimeter ruler and recorded to the nearest 0.1 centimeter (Moussa,et al., 1989 ) Body mass index (BMI) was calculated using the standard formula: weight (kg) / height (m2 ) according to (Gibson 1990).  Questionnaires were conducted on the nutritional, health, economic and social status

Methods

Participants: A cross-sectional research included 150 female students were selected randomly from the faculty of science and arts, Northern Border University aged 19-25 years during February and May 2020. All participants filled a questionnaire having several questions regarding their dietary habits, socio-economic status and health. It is a measure of the social standing of an individual or a family in the society. It is an important factor affecting the health condition of an individual or a family.  (Sharma R., 2013)

Blood samples were drawn by venipuncture into two different vacationers between 0800 and 1300 h. Blood (∼10 mL) was drawn into a vacationer tube with EDTA for determination of hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Ht), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), red blood cell count (RBC), white blood cell count (WBC(

Hb, Ht, WBC, RBC, MCV, MCH and MCHC were determined using a Coulter counter (Coulter® AC-T10 Hematology Analyzer; Coulter Electronic, Miami, FL (

Biochemical parameters included determination of hemoglobin, hematocrit and red blood cells (RBC) (Wintrobe, 1965)

            Hematocrit was considered to be abnormal at values < 0.36 for females and < 0.41 for males (Gibson 1993). RBC for females was considered normal in the range of 4200–5800/mm3 and for males, 3600–5600/mm3 (Gibson 1993). The cut-off values for the red blood cell indices were as follows: MCV < 80 fL, MCH < 27 pg and MCHC < 320 g/L (Gibson 1993(

Statistical analysis: Data collected from the questionnaires were entered and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 21.0 for Windows (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, U.S.A.)Descriptive analysis (mean, standard deviation (SD), frequency distribution, and correlation coefficient) was performed by the Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) version (20). The minimal level of significance will set at P < 0.05 (Nie et al., 1975). and chi-square test   was performed to make some comparisons

Results and Discussion

Table (1) shows mean ±S.D of some anthropometric measurements for female students. It revealed that, the total mean of age was (22±1.20) y and the total mean of wt. was (65±13.25) kg with the highest (70.75±11.64)kg among age group (19- <21), while the total mean of height was (158.5±6)cm with slightly differences among age groups. In case of BMI the total mean of female students was (25.87±5.20) (WT/HT2) with the highest among age group (19-<21) y .It noticed that our results were agree with the results of (Bano et al., 2013)

Table (2) shows percent distribution of students in relation to education and occupation of their parents,, As shown, the most of fathers of the study sample had secondary certificate (42%). On other hand, the most of mothers of the study sample were Illiterate (40%). (86%) of mothers were head of household, (40%) of their fathers were A job without a certificate (retired (. Socioeconomic classification is an important predictor of the health status of an individual or family. The income-based socioeconomic scales. Therefore, the BG Prasad scale used widely to determine the socioeconomic status in health studies and in community health-related studies (Abha Mangal et al., 2014) The results in table (3) shows percent distribution of student’s relation to socio-economic of their families, The majority of families of the study sample were located in the moderate income  (60%)The test (chi-square χ 2) showed that there were different significantly in income between age groups ( p= 0.021( according to (Park,J.E and Park,k.,1979)

Table (4) shows  percent distribution of students in relation to some dietary habits, out of 150 university students,(47.3%)of the study sample eat only two meals a day followed by (36% )eat only one meal, while ( 58%) do not eat breakfast, (57.3%) do not eat vegetables and fruits daily, and that(52%)eat fast food and do not reduce it, and that (55.3%) drink carbonated water and ( 60.7%) drink tea with meals. A study in university students showed that most (80%) of the students take carbonated drinks more than four times a week .A high percentage of fast foods and carbonated drinks consumption our results were agree with the results of (Musaiger, A.O et al., 2017), A high prevalence of eating disorders was found among females at Taif university, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Taha et al.,2018) There was no significant correlation between age or status in school and reported intake of fruits and vegetables (Driskell et al., 2005). students are commonly consume a high quantity of snack foods, soft drinks, high-calorie food, but eat fewer fruits, vegetables and dairy products than the recommended quantity (Al-Khamees, 2009)

            The results of the current study were consistent with the study conducted by Andere and Kyallo (201 0) At the University of Kenya, where it was shown that female students follow bad food practices, one third do not break their fast and 60% eat fried food, drink soft drinks and eat vegetables and fruits in a lower amount than recommended. The BMI classification used in this study was based on the WHO international cut-off values

Table (5) shows percent distribution of students in relation to body mass index. The results showed that (40%) of the female students are overweight and that (6%) are underweight. In Palestinian universities, his study showed that (Bayyari et al, 2013) the average BMI among female students was close to the body mass index of Saudi female students in the current study. The test (chi-square   χ 2) showed that there were different significantly in Body Mass Index (BMI) between age groups (p= 0.004)

Table (6) shows percent distribution of female students in relation to public health status.  Female students are shown to have regular diseases (94%), for example: cough-cold-anemia, (87.33%) do not suffer from yellowing of the color of the eyes, and (76.66%) suffer from Headache. The most commonly used screening methods for the presence of iron deficiency in university students are the measurements of hemoglobin or hematocrit concentration for the presence of anemia (WHO 1972). Table (7) percent distribution of anemic and non-anemic students according to Hb at college of science and arts in Saud Arabia, Anemic (8%) and non –anemic (92%)  These results are in contrast to a study (Hani UK et al., 2021) where (39.7%) students had anemia.

Table (8) show Mean ± SD of some biochemical analysis among students in relation  to age groups, The results of the analysis showed a significant presence of both  LDL ( low densitylipoprotein)(p=0.001<0.05),HCT(Hematocrit)(P=0.02<0.05) and MCV ( mean corpuscular volume) (P=0.007 <0.05). I tried to find a reference related to these results, but I could not find it

Table (9)shows mean ±S.D of some biochemical analysis among female students in relation to BMI categories .The results showed that there are significant differences between BMI categories with HDL-C and HCT, while it were highly significant difference with WBC , Hb and MCV. For other analysis there were no significant differences. I tried to find a reference related to these results, but I could not find it

Table (10) illustrates the percentage distribution of female students according to food habits in relation to BMI categories .from the table, it was noticed that., 53.3%,79.3% and 58% of the students were pay attention to weight , eat foods between meals, and drinking carbonated beverages, with highly significant differences with BMI categories in case of drinking carbonated only our results were agree with (Che Wan Jasimah Wan Mohamed Radzi et al., 2019)  . While for the other habits it was more or less comparable for yes and no.

Conclusion

From our study we can concentrate to the importance of eating three meals as well as eating breakfast in addition the need to reduce the intake of fast food and soft drinks due to its harmful effect on human health where are found a relationship between soft drinks and BMI, so the need to pay attention to eating green vegetables and fruits every day is important to avoid over weight and obese as well as cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases.

Table (1) Mean ± SD of anthropometric measurements of female students

Table (2) percent distribution of students in relation to education and  occupation of their parents

Table (3) percent distribution of student’s relation to socio-economic of their families

SR: Saudi riyals

Table (4) percent distribution of students in relation to some dietary habits

Table (5) percent distribution of students in relation to body mass index

Chi-square statistical analysis with significance at P < 0.05

Table (6) percent distribution of female students in relation to public      health status.

Table (7) percent distribution of anemic and non-anemic students according to hemoglobin cut-off (WHO, 1972)

Table (8) Mean ± SD of some biochemical analysis among students in relation to age groups

Means with the same letter are not significantly different

Table (9) Mean ± SD of some biochemical analysis among students in

               relation to BMI.

Means with the same letter are not significantly differen

Table (10) percent distribution of female students according to food habits in relation to BMI

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" تقييم الحالة الغذائية والصحية والمستوى الإجتماعى والإقتصادى لطالبات کلية العلوم والاداب , جامعة الحدود الشمالية ,المملکة العربية السعودية "                                   

رحاب رأفت عبد الرازق محمد

استاذ مساعد التغذية وعلوم الأطعمة , قسم الأقتصاد المنزلى , کلية العلوم والأداب 

 جامعة الحدود الشمالية –المملکة العربية السعودية

الملخص العربى

تعتبر العادات الغذائية والسلوکيات الصحية من الاهتمامات الرئيسية للصحة العامة للطالبات في الجامعة ، ويهدف البحث إلى تقييم الحالة التغذوية والحالة الصحية والاجتماعية والاقتصادية لطالبات کلية العلوم والآداب بجامعة الحدود الشمالية،حيث تم تقييم 150 طالبة تم اختيارهن عشوائياً تتراوح أعمارهن بين 19-25 سنة. تم أخذ الأوزان والاطوال ،وتم حساب مؤشر کتلة الجسم ، وتم عمل بعض التحاليل الطبية منها الکولسترول (CHO) ،والدهون الثلاثية (TGL)  والبروتين الدهني عالي الکثافة (HDL) ، والهيموجلوبين (Hb) ،وبعض الاستبيانات تم إجراؤها لتقييم الحالة التغذوية والصحية والاقتصادية للطلاب وتم استخدام برنامج SPSS    21 لتحليل البيانات. المتوسط ​​والانحراف المعياري لمؤشر کتلة الجسم الأعلى (28.5175 ± 3.78) للفئة العمرية (19-20) والأدنى (26.054 ± 5.29) للفئة العمرية (21-22). کان مستوى الدخل للعينة بأکملها متوسطًا (60٪) وکان أعلى دخل (69.3٪) للفئة العمرية(21-22)،وأقل دخل(5.3٪) للفئة العمرية(19-20). أظهرت النتائج أن(58٪) من الطالبات لم يتناولن وجبة الإفطار،و (57.3٪) لم يتناولن الخضار والفواکه بشکل يومي (55.3٪) شربن المياه الغازية ، وأظهرت النتائج (40٪) من الإناث. الطالبات يعانون من زيادة الوزن مقارنة بـ (6٪) الذين يعانون من نقص الوزن،وهناک دلالة عالية (P = 0.004) بين مستويات مؤشر کتلة الجسم للطالبات ،وأظهرت النتائج وجود معنوي (P> 0.01) بين HDL -C و BMI ، والدلالة (P = <0.0001) بين WBC و    BMI للطالبات.وخلصت الدراسة إلى أن معظم طلاب الجامعات لديهم عادات غذائية سيئة ، وعلى سبيل التوصية ،يتم تشجيع الجامعة على تقديم برامج تغذوية لزيادة الوعي لدى الطالبات. الکلمات المفتاحية: الحالة التغذوية - الحالة الصحية - طلبة العلوم والآداب - جامعة الحدود الشمالية