Dietary Fat Intake and Physical Activity Relationships in Female College Students

Abstract

LEARNING OUTCOME:To identify relationships between dietary fat intake and physical activity in two groups of female college students The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between dietary fat intake and physical activity in female college students by comparing a group of students who engage in regular aerobic exercise (exercise group or EG; n=38) and a randomly selected group of students (general population group or GPG; n=29). GPG recruitment involved sending letters of invitation to randomly selected students and sending follow-up letters to non-responders. Potential students showing positive interest were enrolled as study participants. EG students were recruited from campus recreational facilities. Data collection consisted of three random 24-hour diet recalls, a seven-day physical activity recall, and a fitness assessment, which included height, weight, skinfold measurements, and a submaximal YMCA cycle ergometer test. Dietary fat intake, physical activity level, energy intake, age, height, weight, aerobic capacity, percentage body fat (% BF), and BMI were compared between groups using t-tests. The GPG had a significantly greater % BF (22.1 ± 4.2 vs 19.9 ± 3.7%) and a significantly lower weight-adjusted physical activity (39.8 ± 5.7 vs 42.8 ± 6.7 kcal/kg/day) at p ≤ 0.05. No significant difference in mean dietary fat intake was found between groups (GPG=22±8 vs EG=20±8%). Correlational coefficient analysis revealed no significant relationship (r ≤ 0.30) between dietary fat intake and physical activity within either group. We concluded that, although regularly exercising female college students, in this study, have greater physical activity levels than average female students, they do not have significantly lower dietary fat intakes. Additionally, the mean dietary fat intakes in this study were much lower than the national average (35%). A study implication is that nutrition education messages which include low-fat foods as part of a balanced diet may be healthier for female college students than messages focusing solely on low-fat diets.