Overweight and Components of the Metabolic Syndrome in College Students
- Terry T.-K. Huang, PHD, MPH1,
- Angela M. Kempf, MA2,
- Myra L. Strother, MD2,
- Chaoyang Li, MD, PHD3,
- Rebecca E. Lee, PHD4,
- Kari J. Harris, PHD, MPH5 and
- Harsohena Kaur, MD, MPH36
- 1Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts
- 2Watkins Memorial Health Center, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas
- 3Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas
- 4Department of Health and Human Performance, University of Houston, Houston, Texas
- 5Department of Psychology, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana
- 6Department of Pediatrics, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Terry T.-K. Huang, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, 711 Washington St., Boston, MA 02111. Email: terry.huang{at}tufts.edu
There is very little information on, and hence an urgent need to better understand, obesity and metabolic dysfunctions among U.S. college students, particularly as obesity rates have increased most rapidly among 18- to 29-year-old individuals and those with some college education (1,2). The National College Health Risk Behavior Survey suggests that as many as 35% of college students may be overweight or obese (3). We previously reported that 21.6% of a predominantly white student sample was overweight or obese (4).
In addition to obesity, the metabolic syndrome affects >20% of U.S. adults (5). Dyslipidemia and hypertension, both part of the metabolic syndrome, have been reported as significant problems in the college population (6,7). However, other metabolic parameters, such as hyperinsulinemia and glucose tolerance, and their associations with adiposity have not been well studied in this group. Thus, we aimed to examine, in a sample of college students, the relationships between weight status and components of the metabolic syndrome. In addition, we examined clinical correlates of percent body fat and total fat mass.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
As part of an ongoing study at the Watkins Memorial Health Center at the University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS), 163 students (18–24 years) provided data on anthropometry, body composition, blood pressure, fasting blood chemistries, and an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).
Anthropometric variables included weight, height, …
