Lifestyle of health sciences students at Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia

BackgroundWe all want to live a long, happy and healthy life with an abundance of energy and vitality to perform well both mentally and physically. A healthy lifestyle is a valuable resource for reducing the incidence and impact of health problems, enabling you better to cope with life stressors, as well as improving your quality of life.AimsThe study was aimed to assess the lifestyle (eating habits and physical activity) of health sciences students studying at Majmaah University.Methods This cross-sectional institutional based study was conducted from 25th November 2014-3rd May 2015. A total of 450 students (370 males and 80 females) aged between 18–28 years were randomly chosen. Self-reported questionnaire was used for data collection from the College of Medicine, College of Applied Medical Sciences and College of Dentistry.Results Majority of the students, 62.4 per cent, were physically inactive. Students from the College of Medicine, 40.4 per cent, were the most physically active. The most common reason that restrained the students from being active was time limitation. In addition to that, many of the participants, 29.6 per cent, have never had breakfast at home. Also, most of the participants, 42.7 per cent, were not satisfied with their eating habits. Almost one quarter of students were consuming soft drinks more than four times a day.ConclusionThere is a high prevalence of sedentary lifestyle, physical inactivity and unhealthy dietary habits among health sciences students studying at Majmaah University. There is an urgent need for arranging health education programs for promoting healthy and active living among health sciences students of Majmaah University in Saudi Arabia