Introduction and Validation of a New Suchitra Scoring System and Determining the Cut off Value for Healthy Lifestyle Among College Students - Kumbakonam Urban Rural Epidemiological Study- KURES- 8

Abstract

College students face a range of problems that might have an impact on their lifestyle, such as academic stress, restricted time, and money, as well as exposure to bad habits. As a result, understanding and promoting healthy lifestyle behaviours is crucial for college students' general health and academic achievement. The development and validation of an instrument (questionnaire) to assess college students' lifestyle practises provides an objective and trustworthy tool for analysing their lifestyle. The intent of this study sought to develop and test a lifestyle questionnaire for college students. The 11-question questionnaire was created to evaluate different areas of a student's lifestyle, including exercise routines, eating habits, sleep quality, stress management, and social behaviour. On a sample of 245 college students, the questionnaire was validated using target population, expert content validity, construct with other known scores, test and retest, alpha, and Pearson correlation analysis. The cut-off value for a good lifestyle was determined to be 21.5, with scores over this amount indicating a good living. Even though most students had poor sleep quality, little physical activity, and poor dietary pattern, we had a low incidence of alcohol and smoking in our sample. The majority were non-vegetarians, and fast-food consumption was much higher. To conclude, the questionnaire (Suchitra score), developed and validated for measuring lifestyle in college students is a reliable and valid tool for assessing various aspects of a student's lifestyle.