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
. 2019 Oct 23;19(1):1354.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-7650-z.

Physical exercise and body-mass index in young adults: a national survey of Norwegian university students

Michael Grasdalsmoen  1 , Hege Randi Eriksen  1 , Kari Jussie Lønning  2   3 , Børge Sivertsen  4   5   6
Affiliations

Physical exercise and body-mass index in young adults: a national survey of Norwegian university students

Michael Grasdalsmoen et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Physical inactivity and obesity pose a major public health challenge. The aim of this study was to describe the level of physical exercise and body-mass index in college and university students, as well as to examine potential changes from 2010 to 2018.

Methods: Data stem from the SHoT study, a national student health survey for higher education in Norway, conducted at 4-year intervals. The SHOT studies conducted so far in 2010, 2014 and 2018, included 6053, 13,525 and 50,054 fulltime students (aged 18-35), respectively. Exercise frequency (average number of times exercising each week) was assessed in all three waves, and was used for the trend analysis. The last wave in 2018 also assessed the average intensity and duration of the exercise.

Results: Overall, students exercised less in 2018 compared to 2014, but comparable to level in 2010. The prevalence of overweight increased substantially from 2010 to 2018, but especially in the last 4 years and among older female students. Less than one of four male, and one of five female students, met the recommended criteria for both exercise frequency, intensity and duration. As expected, the associations between exercise and overweight/obesity were in a dose-response manner, and strong across all three waves.

Conclusions: Our findings show that the large majority of young adults fail to meet international recommendations on exercise, and that the proportion of overweight is increasing in both genders and across all age groups. We conclude that there is an urgent need for a broad approach to achieve a paradigm shift in supporting our college and university students to become more active.

Keywords: Body-mass index; College students; Epidemiology; Physical exercise; Trend.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Response pattern of physical exercise in college/university students in the SHoT2018 study. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Proportion of college/university students exercising twice or more weekly in 2010, 2014 and 2018 stratified by gender and age group. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Prevalence of overweight (BMI > 25; solid bars) and obesity (BMI > 30; shaded bars) on left axis, and continuous BMI on right axis among university and college students in 2010, 2014 and 2018 stratified by gender and age group. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Percentage of male and female students meeting different physical exercise recommendations (bars [left axis]) and BMI (black line on right axis), stratified by age groups
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Finkelstein EA, Khavjou OA, Thompson H, Trogdon JG, Pan LP, Sherry B, et al. Obesity and severe obesity forecasts through 2030. Am J Prev Med. 2012;42(6):563–570. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2011.10.026. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Luke A, Cooper RS. Physical activity does not influence obesity risk: time to clarify the public health message. Int J Epidemiol. 2013;42(6):1831–1836. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyt159. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Fisher G, Hunter GR, Allison DB. Commentary: physical activity does influence obesity risk when it actually occurs in sufficient amount. Int J Epidemiol. 2013;42(6):1845–1848. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyt163. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Are there special recommendations for young people? 2007.
    1. World Health Organiztion (WHO) Global action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases 2013–2020. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2013.