Prevalence of Obesity and Effect of Sport Activity on University Students in Algeria

Overweight and obesity have become major public health problems affecting most countries worldwide. This article describes the prevalence of overweight and obesity among adult students from Relizane University (western Algeria) and assesses their sports activity, basal metabolism and the relationship between sports activity, basal metabolism and gender. A descriptive survey questionnaire was carried out on 363 students (125 (34.43%) males and 238 (65.56%) females) aged 21.55 ± 2.6 years old. It included open-ended and closed questions and covered the following topics: demographic information (age, gender), anthropometric parameters (body weight, height, waist measurement and hip measurement), sports activity and sleep duration. Moreover, body mass index (BMI) was calculated and relation with sports activity, basal metabolism and gender were assessed. Results showed that 80 students (22.04%) were overweight and 23 students (6.34%) were obese. The number of students with normal BMI (18-24) was 235 (64.74%) and those with BMI <18 were 25 (6.89%). Females had a significantly high waist circumference than males (83.08 ± 11.29 cm vs. 78.64 ± 9.43 cm). There was a strong positive correlation between BMI and waist circumference for females (r = 0.656; p < 0.001) and males (r = 0.697; p < 0.001). Among 363 students enrolled in the study, 171 students were involved in a sporting activity (47.11%) and the duration of sports activity per session for males (1.33 ± 0.4 h; p < 0.001) was significantly higher than for females (1.24 ± 0.54 h). For the four BMI categories, women had significantly lower basal metabolic rates than men. In addition, obese and overweight students have higher basal metabolic rates than students who are normal weight, while underweight students have lower basal metabolic rates (p 0.001). This survey highlighted the prevalence of obesity among students; it can be managed using planning informational and promotional programs for students to encourage their participation in various physical activities.