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The Impact of Dietary Glycemic Load and Physical Activity on Weight status of Healthy College‐Aged Female Students in Oman
Author(s) -
Waly Mostafa,
Ali Amanat,
Al-Nassri Amira,
Kilani Hashem A.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.820.9
Subject(s) - glycemic load , medicine , anthropometry , waist , glycemic , glycemic index , body mass index , physical activity , obesity , gerontology , physical activity level , physical therapy , diabetes mellitus , endocrinology
Background The dietary glycemic load (GL) score for an entire day is calculated as the sum of the GL for all consumed food servings. Objective The following study was conducted to correlate the GL of all meals served for female students and physical activity, with their weight gain/loss status for an entire period of 3 months. Methods 200 female students with the same age (18–25 years) living in campus at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), were randomly recruited for this study. They were all healthy and free of any chronic diseases, as confirmed by biochemical analysis and medical history. The dietary food intake data was measured using semiquantitative food frequency questionnaires through a personal interview with the investigators. Anthropometric measurements (weight, height and waist, hip circumferences) and physical activity level were also evaluated. Results Our results show that the study subjects are consuming low glycemic load foods and maintain a normal body mass index (BMI) (<25). Waist to hip ratios values were <1. They were having a comparable moderate level of physical activity. Conclusion Our study indicates that the meals served inside the SQU campus are of low GL and it was a major determinate of the weight status for the female students attending SQU independent of their dietary habits, physical activity and cultural differences.