Effect of Lifestyle Modification on common risk factors of Non- Communicable Diseases (NCDs) among Overweight and Obese Medical Students in Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University: A Pre-Post Interventional Study.

Background: University life is characterized by deterioration in health behaviors, such as poor eating habits and decreased physical activity, which may result in bad health outcomes in the form of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).Lifestyle modification is the cornerstone for managing obesity and lipid and lipoprotein problems in primary and secondary preventive settings.Objective: To evaluate the effect of a lifestyle modification program on behavioral (diet and physical exercise) and metabolic risk factors (Blood pressure, hemoglobin A1C, and lipid profile) of NCDs in overweight and obese medical students.Methods: This is a pre-post interventional study on one hundred thirty students in the Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, assigned to an intervention group exposed to a lifestyle modification program and a control group.Blood pressure, hemoglobin A1C, and lipid profile were evaluated before and after the intervention.Results: There was a significant improvement in the intervention group regarding dietary balance, physical activity, BMI as12.3% of students acquired normal weight, and the percentage of obese students dropped from 16.9% to 13.9%,The rate of hypertensives decreased from 23% to 1.5%, and fasting lipid profile (dyslipidemia dropped from 40% to 7.7%) compared to controls.Binary logistic regression showed that the diastolic blood pressure percentage of change and the HDL-C percentage of change were the most significant factors associated with dietary percentage of change in the intervention group.Conclusion: Lifestyle modification is highly effective in reducing common risk factors of NCDs (overweight/obesity, elevated blood pressure, and dyslipidemia).