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The Association of Nutrition Intake and Physical Activity on Weight in Female College-Aged Students

Abstract

Stinchcomb, M., Bayles, M., Indiana University of Pennsyvlania, Indiana, PA

Purpose: During the college years, individuals change their lifestyle habits which results in weight change, decrease in physical activity, and poorer eating habits. However, the association of physical activity and nutrition intake to weight has not been well established. This study is to determine the association between nutrition intake and physical activity on weight in female college-aged students. Method: A total of 41 freshman and senior female students ranging from 18 to 24 years of age within the business or nursing programs at Indiana University of Pennsylvania volunteered to participate. In order to conduct this study, the participants completed the Modifiable Activity Questionnaire to assess nutrition intake and the Food Frequency Questionnaire to assess physical activity. Results: Independent t-tests and chi squared and crosstabulation analyses were used in SPSS 20 software to determine the association of physical activity and nutrition intake to weight between academic status and major. For the freshman students (n=18), the mean high school weight was 61.82±10.69 kilograms. The average current weight value was 62.67±10.62 kilograms gaining an average of .85 kilogram (p=.450). The senior females had a mean of 58.74±8.31 kilogram during their senior year of high school. For their senior year of college weights, the mean value in kilograms was 64.60±13.89. On average, the senior subject’s (n=23) gained 5.86±11.15 kilograms between the end of their high school careers and the end of their senior year of college (p=.020). Conclusion: The results showed a significant increase in weight between senior year of high school and senior year of college as well as an increase in weight during freshman year of college.

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