To obtain the data, students from the first to the tenth cycle of a private university located in the eastern region of Lima, Peru, were evaluated at the beginning of the academic year. Design, Type of Research, and ParticipantsĪ cross-sectional study was carried out. In this sense, the objective of this study was to determine the BMI, % BF, WC, and anemia in university students. Consequently, there is an urgent need to analyze the situation in this population group. In Peru, some studies have been carried out regarding the prevalence of overweight and obesity however, few have focused on the percentage of body fat, anemia, and cardiovascular risk factors in college students. It is important to study young university students, because this is an important and vulnerable period for adverse behavior change related to weight and risk of anemia. 17.7% had mild anemia, 2.8% moderate anemia, and 0.2% severe anemia. In Peru, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics, 20.7% of women between 15 and 49 years old had some type of anemia. It is estimated that this disease affects 528.7 million women and 273.2 million children under 5 years of age in the world in 2011. On the other hand, another factor that is present is anemia, which is a disorder that is characterized by a hemoglobin concentration below the specific threshold, which creates an impediment to meet the oxygen demands of the tissues. Likewise, sedentary lifestyle and genetic and metabolic factors contribute to the appearance of the disease.
The causes of overweight and obesity are multifactorial among them, the most prominent are inadequate dietary practices with low consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts and high consumption of foods with high caloric density. These diseases contribute to reducing life expectancy by up to ten years and represent a high economic burden for society. Overweight and obesity represent one of the important risk factors for the development of cardiovascular diseases, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, high blood pressure, and different types of cancer. According to the National Institute of Health, 42.4% of young people represented by the university population have obesity. The prevalence of overweight and obesity has doubled since 1980 and affects almost a third of the world's population, becoming a public health problem and increasing considerably, especially among university students in developing countries. The university environment represents a critical space for students regarding the adoption of inappropriate eating habits and a greater risk of overweight and obesity and anemia, characterized particularly by an intake of foods rich in saturated fat and deficient in essential minerals such as iron and folic acid. The findings of this study suggest that college students, especially males and those who are not enrolled in health sciences colleges, should be a priority in healthy lifestyle interventions, particularly nutritional education programs, to reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity. The proportion of women who presented anemia and high and very high WC was significantly higher compared to men ( ). The men presented significantly high and very high levels of % BF ( ). There were no significant differences between men and women in BMI ( ).
A significance level of 5% was considered.
The analysis of the associated factors was done using binary logistic regression. Anthropometric data and hemoglobin levels were measured. The sample was selected by nonprobability convenience sampling. A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2,285 university students from Lima, Peru. The objective of this study was to determine the body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage (% BF), waist circumference (WC), and anemia in university students. The university represents a critical space for students in terms of prevalence of malnutrition.
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