Anthropometric evaluations of body fat content of undergraduate male students

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.