Prevalence of Obesity and Physical Inactivity Behaviors among Nursing Students in Mutah University, Jordan

Abstract: To assess the prevalence of obesity and patterns of physical inactivity among nursing students, a cross-sectional design was conducted from May 2013 to January 2014. A simple random sampling technique was adopted to choose the study subjects. Data was collected using an adapted version of a physical activity questionnaire (Al-Hazzaa, 2003). Chi square test and Monte Carlo test were used to analyze the data. More than one third of nursing students did not exercise or engage in sports activities for at least 20 minutes; furthermore, more than two -thirds did not exercise for at least five days or more a week. In addition, more than half of the students did not engage in any stretching exercises. The BMI indicated that about half the students were overweight and 14.7% were obese. Physical education classes should be integrated in the nursing faculty curriculum to avoid the increased prevalence of overweight.