ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2013 June;172(6):487-94

Copyright © 2013 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Anthropometric characteristics, physical fitness and lifestyles of university students in the Maule region of Chile

Santos C. S. ¹, Contreras A. M. M. ¹, Bawarshi Y. A. ¹, Faúndez C. C. ¹, Fuentes E. Q. ^{2, 3}, Palomo I. G. ^{2, 3}

¹ Sports and Physical Activity Program, University of Talca, Talca, Chile; ² Department of Clinical Biochemisty and Immunohematology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Interdisciplinary Excellence, Research Program on Health Aging (PIEI-ES) Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile; ³ Centro de Estudios en, Alimentos Procesados (CEAP), Conicyt-Regional, Gore Maule, Talca, Chile

Aim: Metabolic risk and cardiovascular diseases are potentially modifiable. To determine anthropometric indicators, the physical fitness level, and lifestyles of the students of the University of Talca, Chile.
Methods: One thousand two hundred students between the ages 18 and 26 (55.7% women) participated in the study. They were evaluated according to anthropometric parameters and physical fitness.
Results: 26.6% of the participants had a body mass index above 25 kg/m2, and 9.4% had a waist circumference with increased risk. The 70% of the student participants reported doing sedentary activities in their free time, with 90% reporting that they do not do physical activity because of lack of time, excessive studying, disinterest, and laziness.
Conclusion: In this study, there is a high probability that the students will contract different metabolic and cardiovascular diseases in the future given the high rates of sedentarism, excess weight or obesity and poor physical condition demonstrated.