Evaluation of nutritional status of foreign students at King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The current study was conducted to assess the nutritional status and associated risk factors among foreign students residing at King Saud University for different periods and to explore its correlations. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted during the spring semester of 2018. A total of 400 male students aged 18-35 years had participated in the current study after signing a written consent form according to Helsinki Declaration. SETTING: A structural questionnaire was used to collect data on daily food intake and habits and socio-economic characteristics. Nutrients of food intake were assessed using the Esha programme and compared with that of dietary requirement intake (DRI). A body composition analyser was used to measure body fat (BF), visceral fat (VF) and BMI. Spearman correlation coefficients and simple regression analysis were performed to determine associations between variables. PARTICIPANTS: Foreign students residing for different periods (<6 months 200 students and >6 months 200 students) were used as subjects. RESULTS: The students who stayed <6 months consumed lower level of some nutrients than that of the DRI compared with those stayed >6 months. Overweight and obesity were more common among students who stayed >6 months with high values of BF and VF. Several risk factors were positively or negatively correlated with the students' nutrition proxies. CONCLUSION: Most of the students who stayed >6 months are suffered from overweight. Some independent variables were found to be significantly correlated with the students' nutrition proxies either positively or negatively.