Health, health behaviors, and medical care utilization among college students with obesity

Abstract

Objective: The study assessed perceived health, health behaviors and conditions, and medical care utilization among students of different weight categories. Participants: Participants were college students (n = 37,583) from 58 institutions who responded to a national survey of student health behaviors. Methods: Chi-squared and mixed model analyses were completed. Results: Compared to healthy weight students, those with obesity were less likely to report excellent health and meet dietary and physical activity recommendations, and more likely to have obesity-related chronic conditions and to have attended a medical appointment in the prior 12 months. Students with obesity (84%) and overweight (70%) were more likely to be attempting weight loss compared to students of healthy weight (35%). Conclusions: Students with obesity have poorer health and health behaviors relative to students of healthy weight; students with overweight were in between. Adapting and implementing evidence-based weight management programs within colleges/universities may be beneficial for student health.

Keywords:

• College students
• health behaviors
• obesity
• healthcare utilization

Disclosure statement

J.G.L. receives grant funding from and serves as a consultant for WW International. R.R.W. is on the Scientific Advisory Board of Noom. The other authors declared no conflict of interest. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States of America and was determined not to be human subjects research by the Lifespan Institutional Review Board.

Disclaimer

The opinions, findings, and conclusions presented/reported in this article/presentation are those of the author(s), and are in no way meant to represent the corporate opinions, views, or policies of the American College Health Association (ACHA). ACHA does not warrant nor assume any liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information presented in this article/presentation.

Data availability statement

Data for this study were from the 2019 National College Health Assessment conducted by the American College Health Association and may be available upon request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health: NIDDK under Grant No. K23DK128561