Abstract:
Anthropometric measurements are
quick and handy methods, predicting the risk of
non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Changes in
diet, lifestyle and experiencing mental stresses are
some of the rapid changes, exhibited in students
entering into the residential universities in Sri
Lanka. The interest of this study was to identify
and compare changes in their body fat and NCD-related risk factors during university life. A cross-sectional study was conducted using 107 male
undergraduates with the proportion of Sinhalese:
Tamils: Muslims, Catholics as 17.5:5:2:0.5, who
were from all batches in the University of
Peradeniya. After administrating a pre-tested
questionnaire, age, diet pattern, ethnicity and
having food or physical activities within 2 hours
were questioned, excluding other conditions
affecting the body water content. Body weight,
body fat percentage and Body Mass Index (BMI)
together with muscle mass, bone mass and body
water content were reported by the Body Fat
Analyzer. All the data drawn were entered and
analyzed using SPSS software. Among
anthropometric indicators measured, waist
circumference (WC) had a slightly better
correlation while BMI and waist circumference to
height ratio (WHtR) had similar amount of
correlations and waist-to-hip circumference ratio
(WHR) showed a lower correlation with body fat
compared to other indicators. All the mean values
of the four batches were below the risk levels of
each indicator but it showed a significant
increment of body fat from the 1st year to final
year and a higher variation in body fat was
observed among 1st year students compared to final year students.
