Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 May;25(3):56-66.
doi: 10.21315/mjms2018.25.3.6. Epub 2018 Jun 28.

Dietary Habits and Lifestyle Practices among University Students in Universiti Brunei Darussalam

Tok Chen Yun  1 , Siti Rohaiza Ahmad  1 , David Koh Soo Quee  2
Affiliations

Dietary Habits and Lifestyle Practices among University Students in Universiti Brunei Darussalam

Tok Chen Yun et al. Malays J Med Sci. 2018 May.

Abstract

Background: Young adults are at risk of developing obesity, especially when transitioning into university life as they become responsible for their daily eating and lifestyles. This study estimates the prevalence of overweight/obesity and explores the eating patterns and lifestyle practices of university students.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD). A total of 303 students participated. Data was collected from January to April 2016. Self-designed questionnaires comprised questions pertaining to current weight, self-reported height data, information on eating habits, exercise and knowledge of the food pyramid. The collected data were used to compare and contrast eating habits and lifestyle practices among overweight/obese students with those of non-overweight/obese students.

Results: The prevalence of overweight/obesity was 28.8% (95% CI: 24.0%, 34.0%). The majority ate regular daily meals, but more than half skipped breakfast. Frequent snacking, fried food consumption at least three times per week and low intake of daily fruits and vegetables were common. The frequency of visits to fast food restaurants was significantly higher in the overweight/obese. 25.4% of the students exercised at least three times per week. Almost all students are aware of balanced nutrition and the food pyramid.

Conclusions: Most university students had poor eating habits, although the majority had good nutrition knowledge. By way of recommendation, the university is encouraged to provide a multi-disciplinary team specialising in health promotion that includes nutrition and physical activity programmes to increase the awareness among the university students.

Keywords: eating habits; obesity; physical exercise; transition; university students.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest in this study.

References

    1. Kelly T, Yang W, Chen CS, Reynolds K, He J. Global burden of obesity in 2005 and projections to 2030. Int J Obes. 2008;32(9):1431–1437. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2008.102. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Zakaria K, Magpusao M, Hamid NE, Kassim N, Naing L. Effect of weight loss on cardiovascular risk factors among obese individuals in a weight management programme in Brunei Darussalam. Brunei International Medical Journal. 2014;10(1):10–18.
    1. Silliman K, Rodas-Fortier K, Neyman M. A survey of dietary and exercise habits and perceived barriers to following a healthy lifestyle in a college population. Calif J Health Promot. 2004;2(2):10–19.
    1. Deshpande S, Basil M, Basil D. Factors influencing healthy eating habits among college students: an application of the health belief model. Health Mark Q. 2009:145–64. doi: 10.1080/07359680802619834. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gan WY, Mohd Nasir MT, Zalilah MS, Hazizi AS. Differences in eating behaviours, dietary intake and body weight status between male and female Malaysian university students. Malays J Nutr. 2011;17(2):213–228. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources