Lifestyle Factors Association with BMI in Greek Male Conscripts

Abstract

We determined associations between various lifestyle factors and body mass index (BMI) in 4326 conscripts of the Greek Army, aged 18-27 years. Prevalence of overweight was 32.3% and of obesity 13.2%. Prevalence of underweight was 1.2% and correlated with the level of education (τ=-0.32, p=0.01). In multivariate analysis we found that lower BMI levels were associated with living in urban areas (OR: 0.93, CI: 0.87-0.98, p=0.019), with more time spend in sporting activities (OR: 0.65, CI: 0.61-0.70, p<0.001), and with more juice consumption (OR: 0.75, CI: 0.67-0.83, p<0.001). On the contrary, higher BMI levels were associated with beverage and alcohol consumption (OR: 1.26, CI: 1.14-1.39, p<0.001, and OR: 1.15, CI: 1.04-1.28, p=0.007, respectively). Education and cigarette smoking were not correlated with BMI. In conclusion, prevalence of underweight was correlated with the level of education and obesity was associated with living in rural areas, physical inactivity, heavy alcohol drinking, consumption of sugar sweetened beverages, and low consumption of orange juice.