Differences in health behaviors related to overweight/obesity by race/ethnicity in a diverse urban commuter college

Abstract

Objective: To examine health behaviors associated with overweight/obesity by race/ethnicity at a diverse urban college. Participants: 270 undergraduates (77.0% female; 26.7% non-Hispanic white) and median body mass index (BMI) of 23.1 kg/m². Methods: A questionnaire about health-related behaviors as part of the “Get Fruved” project was used to measure health behaviors (sugar sweetened beverage (SSB), fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, stress, and sleep) by race/ethnicity. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the adjusted odds of engaging in positive health-related behaviors. Results: Non-Hispanic black and Hispanic students were 64% and 59% less likely to consume lower amounts of SSB. Hispanic students were 83% and 81% less likely to meet vegetable and fruit recommendations. Non-Hispanic black and other (including biracial) had reduced odds of meeting vegetable recommendations (AOR = 0.18 and 0.28). Conclusions: Disparities in SSB, fruit, and vegetable consumption represent potential intervention targets to improve health behaviors among racial/ethnic minorities.

Keywords:

• College
• health behavior
• race/ethnicity

Acknowledgments

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. We, the authors, are specifically interested in publishing the results of this study with the Journal of the American College of Health. We feel the results of this study would be of value to your readership and that it will help further the discussion around addressing disparities in health behaviors in undergraduate students that contribute to overweight and obesity among racial/ethnic minorities.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States and received approval from the University Integrated Institutional Review Board of the City University of NY.

Data availability statement

Data is available upon request.

Additional information

Funding

This analysis is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 2014-67001-21851.