Impact of Previous Dietary and Exercise Education on Knowledge of Obesity and its Comorbidities: Case Study on a College Campus

Abstract

Greater than 40% of the adult U.S. population is estimated to be clinically obese based on body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2. Obesity is associated with several debilitating comorbidities that impact both physical and mental health including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and depression. A college community is not immune to obesity, but with a typically younger and more active population the prevalence of obesity is generally lower on campus than the neighboring area. We hypothesized that a formal education of diet and exercise would be strongly associated with reduced obesity, and moreover an increased knowledge of obesity-linked comorbidities. College students were surveyed on their educational background, obesity and associated comorbidity knowledge, as well as anthropometric information including height and weight. Correlations were analyzed to determine links between education, obesity knowledge, and BMI. We received completed surveys from 158 students with an average age of 20.5 ± 3.0 years and BMI of 24.5 ± 5.1 kg/m2. Students with formalized education in diet and exercise were more informed about current nutritional and physical activity guidelines than those students who had not received similar education. Despite this disparity, both groups of students were similarly knowledgeable about obesity and its comorbidities. Additionally, there was no difference in the self-reported BMIs between these two groups of students. Based on our survey, the prevalence of obesity was 10.8%, much lower than the national average. We conclude that a formal education in diet and exercise did not lead to differences in weight status or obesity knowledge amongst students on this college campus. This suggests that on-campus health promotion initiatives regarding obesity would be equally beneficial to all students regardless of educational background. Honors Program; Herbert H. & Grace A. College of Health Professions; Offce of Graduate Studies Central Michigan University. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.