Comparison of vitamin D status and physical activity related to obesity among tertiary education students

University students are young adults who are productive and have relatively high physical activity. Obesity is caused by imbalance between excessive food intake and low physical activity and is a risk factor for vitamin D deficiency. This research aimed to explore vitamin D status and physical activity in the obese and nonobese groups and the relationship between vitamin D status and physical activity. The research design used was cross-sectional using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and vitamin D status questionnaires. The research location was the campus area of Surabaya and was carried out from March 2018 to January 2019. This study involved 143 respondents consisting of 71 people (49.65%) in the obese group and 72 people (50.34%) in the nonobese group. The results showed that there was a significant difference in physical activity (p = 0.047) and vitamin D status (p < 0.05) between the nonobese and obese groups. There was a significant relationship (p < 0.05) between vitamin D status and physical activity, although the relationship was low (correlation coefficient = 0.326). Therefore, increased physical activity can improve vitamin D status while still paying attention to other factors that affect vitamin D, such as diet and lifestyle. The condition of vitamin D also needs to be confirmed by measuring the 25(OH)D blood test