Association Between Perceived Stress And Obesity Among Female Undergraduate Students In The University Of Peradeniya

Abstract

Abstract:-Obesity has been widely recognized as a major health hazard due to the increased risk of heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and cancers. BMI is the most popular method of measuring obesity. However, waist circumference is a commonly used measure to evaluate the abdominal fat distribution. In Sri Lanka, female sex is recognized to be associate with overweight and obesity. Out of many well-known etiological factors, everincreasing stress in life remains a poorly understood cause of obesity. University students are particularly subjected to stressors and possibly have a higher incidence of becoming obese and to have high abdominal obesity. This study explores the prevalence of overweight and obesity by Body Mass Index, abdominal obesity by Waist Circumference, and explores the association between the degree of perceived stress measured by perceived stress scale with BMI and waist circumference among female students at the University of Peradeniya. A total of 450, 3rdyear female students were selected randomly to represent all the faculties of theUniversity of Peradeniya. The Perceived stress scale; a self-reporting questionnaire was administered. Anthropometric measurements were measured by using standardized equipment. Visceral fat was measured by the Bio Impedance analysis machine. Data were analysed using SPSS 20 software. Prevalence of overweight, obesity, and abdominal obesity were 19.9%, 4.1% and 10.1% respectively. There was a statistically significant association between perceived stress level and the waist circumference categories (p<0.05). A similar trend was seen with BMI even though it is not significant (p>0.05). This study demonstrates a low prevalence of obesity among university students compared to the previously reported 7.3% of prevalence among the female population, Sri Lanka. The impact of high perceived stress; a manageable risk factor of obesity was recognized.