Lifestyle factors and dietary intake of Iranian postgraduate students in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)

BACKGROUND: A student's lifestyle can change notably in a foreign country. The objective of this study was to determine factors associated with the body weight status of Iranian postgraduate students in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) 2009.
METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was administered to 210 Iranian postgraduate students at UPM. Anthropometric factors also were measured using standard procedures. Body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) also were calculated. The chi-squared test, Spearman's rho, and the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient were used to determine the associations between the variables that were studied. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to measure the amount of influence a predictor variable had on a outcome variable.
RESULTS: There was no significant correlation between nutritional knowledge (P > 0.05), weight-management knowledge (P > 0.05), and smoking (P > 0.05) and BMI. There were statistically significant correlations between gender (P < 0.01), physical activity (P < 0.05), protein (P < 0.01), carbohydrate (P < 0.01), fat (P < 0.01), fiber (P < 0.01), vitamin C (P < 0.05), calcium (P < 0.01), and iron (P < 0.01) and BMI. There were also relationships between body fat (P < 0.01), waist circumference (P < 0.01), hip circumference (P < 0.01) and WHR (P < 0.01) and BMI.
CONCLUSION: Our findings showed the need for a nutrition promotion program for the Iranian students to help them change their negative food habits and improve their lifestyles.
KEYWORDS: Body weight; Dietary intake; Iran; Life style; Malaysia