Obesity and Correlation of Body Mass Index and Body Composition among Sports Sciences versus Non-Sport Sciences Students

Background: Obesity contributes to the overall burden of disease worldwide. Adiposity can be measured using body mass index (BMI) and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), such as body fat (BF) percentage. Physical education potentially controlled overweight (OW) and obesity (OB) among young adult students. Objective: The study examined obesity and the correlation between body mass index (BMI) and body composition among students. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional study using a non-athlete population of students aged 19-21 years (n=132) from sports sciences and non-sport sciences students. Body composition included body weight (BW) (kg), total body fat (BF), visceral fat (VF), and basal metabolic rate (BMR) (kcal) were evaluated. Results: Non-sport sciences students have a higher prevalence of overweight (OV)/obese (OB) than sports sciences students. Among sports sciences students, BMI had a high positive correlation with BW and VF and a low positive correlation with BF. Among non-sport sciences students, BMI had a very high positive correlation with BW and a high positive correlation with BF and VF. Conclusions: BMI was not an appropriately sensitive screening tool to find obesity in physically active individuals. Incorporation of physical education in course programs may control OV and OB among young adult students.