Health-promoting lifestyle and body mass index among College of Nursing students in Kuwait: A correlational study

AbstractIncreasing trend of hypertension and overweight have become a global health problem among youngsters. Over weight is strongly related to high blood pressure and the consequences of the increasing prevalence of overweight will be enormous in the future. Students in nursing profession are adolescents and they may have adjustment problems with new surroundings such as hostel, hospital and new curriculum. The stress experienced may predispose them to have increased blood pressure. A Cross sectional, correlational survey was conductedon blood pressure, stress and body mass index (BMI) among 200 BSc. Nursing Students in a selected college of nursing in Udupi District. The objectives of the study were to determine the blood pressure (BP), body mass index (BMI) and stress level of BSc nursing students, to compare the BP, BMI and stress of various batches of BSc nursing students and to determine the relationship among Blood pressure, BMI and stress. It is observed that 45% of the subjects were in pre hypertensive stage, and 3% in hypertension stage. Majority of the subjects had normal BMI. Moderate stress was experienced by 95.5% of the subjects. Study found a weak but positive correlation between BMI and BP and negative correlation with stress. A significant difference was found in mean stress score among four batches of students. There was no significant difference in BMI and BP of four batches of students. As nursing students experience stress, adequate support structures for clinical areas, preceptorshipprogrammes and the availability of student counselling services may be helpful to cope with the stress experienced.

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Health-promoting lifestyle profile and associated factors among medical students in a Saudi university

SAGE Open Medicine ◽

10.1177/2050312119838426 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. 205031211983842 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Sami H Alzahrani ◽

Ahmad Azam Malik ◽

Jamil Bashawri ◽

Saleh Ageel Shaheen ◽

Musab Mamdouh Shaheen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Health Promotion ◽

Medical Students ◽

Interpersonal Relationships ◽

Body Mass ◽

Family Income ◽

Health Science ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Health Promoting ◽

Health Promoting Lifestyle

Objectives: Health promotion is the main strategy for encouraging people to adopt a healthy lifestyle and for preventing non-communicable diseases. Medical students, in particular, are expected to have an important role in health promotion in their near future as physicians. The aim of this study was to determine and evaluate all six components of the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile and its sociodemographic determinants among medical students. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in January 2018 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire used in this study consisted of two parts: the first part included sociodemographic questions and body mass index measurement and the second part consisted of questions from the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II. Results: The study enrolled 243 medical students, of which 55.1% were male, 39.5% were in their fifth year, and more than half had a monthly family income above 20,000 Saudi Riyal. The mean body mass index of the respondents was 25.1 ± 5.2 (range = 13.7–43.8). The total mean score of the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II was 123.8 ± 19.8 (range = 72–191). Study findings showed that health-promoting profiles differed by gender, particularly with respect to physical activity and interpersonal relationships. Factors were found to be associated with the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II subscales, including income and year of study. Conclusions: University students, and in particular health science students, represent an appropriate area for health promotion interventions to be established.

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