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Identifying Changes in Physical Activity, Body Weight, and Body Composition in First Year University Students
Author(s) -
Thomas Aysha M.,
Klentrou Panagiota,
Gammage Kimberly,
Josse Andrea
Publication year - 2017
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.31.1_supplement.957.28
Subject(s) - intrapersonal communication , physical activity , lean body mass , composition (language) , interpersonal communication , psychology , fat mass , medicine , demography , body weight , energy expenditure , gerontology , zoology , physical therapy , biology , social psychology , linguistics , philosophy , sociology
Objective To identify changes in physical activity, body weight, and body composition as students' transition from high school to university and undergo their first year of university. Methods Subjects included male and female students entering their first year at Brock University, aged 17–20 years, with no previous university or college experience. Data was collected over 2 academic years (2014–15 and 2015–16) at 2 time points: September and April. To analyze the changes in physical activity, students filled out an Activity Questionnaire assessing the physical activity they engaged in, and another questionnaire measuring interpersonal, intrapersonal and structural factors that promoted or dissuaded them from being physically active. Participants also underwent body composition testing. Results There was an overall average weight gain of 2.0 kg (4.4 lbs) ( p <0.001) across the sample, with males gaining an average of 3.5 kg (7.7 lbs) ( p <0.001) and females gaining an average of 1.4 kg (3.1 lbs) ( p <0.001). Females demonstrated significant increases in fat mass ( p <0.001) and lean mass ( p <0.001), whereas males demonstrated significant increases in lean mass ( p <0.001) only. These changes were accompanied by significant reductions in physical activity output, including energy expenditure, light, moderate, and vigorous activity minutes, and MET minutes per week among females. Males experienced similar significant reductions in all variables except vigorous activity minutes. Perceived intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural barriers to physical activity participation significantly increased favouring reductions in physical activity for both males and females. Conclusions Weight gain occurred among first year students at Brock University, characterized by increased fat and lean mass in females and increased lean mass in males. This difference illustrates the importance of measuring body composition and not just body weight to assess these changes. Reductions in overall physical activity were observed across the sample highlighting the importance of developing interventions to promote physical activity among first year students. These interventions should focus on reducing the barriers that affect students' physical activity participation including peer influence, gender, age, ethnic background, and perceived body image.