Relationship of Body Mass Index and Physical Activity with Hand Grip Status Among University Students: A Cross Sectional Analysis

Abstract

The objective of this study is to determine the relationship between nutritional status and hand grip strength among university students in Kuala Nerus and assess the relationships between BMI and physical activity with hand grip among students. University students (N = 80, mean age 21.8 ± 1.4 years) that included 36 males and 44 females were recruited using a convenient sampling technique from two universities which is Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) and Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) in a cross sectional study in Kuala Nerus, Terengganu. Weight and height were measured and body mass index were calculated. Hand grip strength was measured too using Takei Digital Grip Strength Dynamometer. Furthermore, eating habits and level of physical activity were self-reported by the students using FFQ adopted from MANS and IPAQ questionnaire. The prevalence of underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity were 7.4%, 66.3%, 17.5%, and 8.8% respectively. Male have slightly higher intake of calories, carbohydrates and fat with mean value of 2229 kcal, 295.3 g and 66.8 g respectively compared to female with calories of 2126 kcal, carbohydrates of 283 g and fat of 64.2 g. Meanwhile, most of the students involved in this study were classified as being moderately active (65%) followed by low physical activity (28.8%) and the least goes to the high physical activity category (6.2%). Furthermore, male subjects had a higher value of handgrip strength in both right (32.3 kg) and left hand (28.2 kg) as compared to female subjects that was 20.0 kg on the right hand while 17.6 kg on the left hand. The present study also showed that males had a higher percentage of overweight and obesity than females and there was a significant association between body mass index and gender as well as gender and hand grip strength (p<0.05). There were also significant association observed between BMI and physical activity with hand grip strength meanwhile, there is no association between dietary intakes (protein) with grip strength (p<0.05).
 Keywords: eating habits, hand grip strength, BMI, physical activity