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Published in: International Journal of Public Health 7/2020

01-09-2020 | Obesity | Review

Identifying factors associated with obesity traits in undergraduate students: a scoping review

Authors: Rita E. Morassut, Chenchen Tian, David Meyre

Published in: International Journal of Public Health | Issue 7/2020

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Abstract

Objectives

This scoping review identifies factors associated with obesity traits including body mass index, weight, and body fat percentage in undergraduate students.

Methods

We searched CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO for original studies of undergraduate students where an obesity trait was associated with a risk factor.

Results

Two-hundred sixty-eight articles were included comprising of 251 studies: 186 cross-sectional, 50 cohort, 11 interventional, and 4 qualitative. We extracted data on risk/protective factors, obesity traits, and the direction of effect between them. We identified a variety of factors including age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religion, diet, eating habits, physical activity, sedentary activity, sleep, stress, university campus life, alcohol use, smoking, psychiatric disorders, body image, eating attitude, eating regulation, personality, sociocultural influences, and genetics. The majority of associations were cross-sectional. For longitudinal findings, usually only one study investigated each trait.

Conclusions

This review identifies a need for higher quality evidence to support results from cross-sectional studies and replication of findings of longitudinal studies. This review identifies gaps in the literature, generates hypotheses, guides researchers to plan future studies, and helps decision-makers design obesity-prevention programs in universities.
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Metadata
Title
Identifying factors associated with obesity traits in undergraduate students: a scoping review
Authors
Rita E. Morassut
Chenchen Tian
David Meyre
Publication date
01-09-2020
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Keywords
Obesity
Obesity
Published in
International Journal of Public Health / Issue 7/2020
Print ISSN: 1661-8556
Electronic ISSN: 1661-8564
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-020-01458-4

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