An anthropometric and physical condition assessment of university students attending a food assistance program in Colombia.

Abstract

The university life implies significant changes in the food habits and physical activities. The university students usually don’t fulfill neither the recommended nutritional requirements nor the physical condition advises. The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritional state and physical condition in Colombian university students attending to a food assistance program. It was a descriptive cross-sectional study with undergraduate students from the University of Caldas, Colombia. Anthropometric measurements (e.g. height, weight, biceps, triceps, subscapular and suprailiac skinfolds, arm and waist circumferences) were taken. Besides, functional manual pressure tests and the Harvard step test were performed. The correlation between anthropometrical and functional variables was calculated. According to the Body mass index (BMI), 22.4% from 420 students had malnutrition. The weight excess was 3.6 times bigger tan undernourishment (17.9 compared to 4.5%). However, when the body fat was measured the situation got worse: the 46.4% of them had fat excess. The women were the most affected. The waist circumference showed a fat distribution with abdominal predominance in 14% of the population. The forearm strength and muscle mass were decreased in almost the 50% of men and 30% of women. The physical condition was inappropriate for the 38.1% of participants with a greater alteration in the men. Contradicting the assumptions, it has found out that around 50% of the public university students and beneficiaries of a food assistance program had body fat excess and an inappropriate physical condition. Efforts to improve the physical activity and food habits must be carried out. At the same time, the impact of the malnutrition in health and academic efficiency must be reduced.