Changes in Students’ Lifestyles, Weight Regulation Practices, and Willingness to Apply Lifestyle Medicine Knowledge in Their Future Practice.

Objectives This study assessed changes in students’ lifestyles, body weight trends, management practices, and willingness to apply lifestyle medicine after medical studies. Materials and Methods Three cross-sectional student surveys were analyzed. The first, conducted in 2000, 2010, and 2017, involved 1430 first-year students from five Kaunas universities. The second, in 2022, included 1430 first-year students from four major Lithuanian Universities of Applied Sciences. The third, also in 2022, included 304 residents and 161 sixth-year medical students from the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. Students reported their lifestyle habits, self-reported weight and height, and changes during and after quarantine. BMI was calculated from self-reported data, and residents and medical students were asked about their intent to apply lifestyle medicine knowledge. Results Among male students, the prevalence of normal weight decreased from 84.8% at the beginning of the study to 71.6% in 2017, with overweight prevalence nearly doubling, reaching 24.3% in the last survey. Females showed a smaller increase in overweight prevalence, from 5.2% to 9.6%. Body dissatisfaction was more common among females (34.7% vs. 25.9% for males). They were also more likely to worry about weight gain and engage in weight loss behaviors. Moderately reduced food intake and exercise were popular methods of weight management, but extreme methods persisted among some students with overweight. Quarantine exacerbated poor habits, with weight gain reported by over a third of students, associated with increased snacking, fast food consumption, and reduced physical activity. Post-quarantine, unhealthy habits, and weight gain persisted for many. 40.9% of students who gained weight during quarantine kept it after. Many continued frequent snacking and unhealthy habits, while nearly half reported reduced physical activity. The majority of medical students and residents did not follow a healthy lifestyle, and a third of them indicated that they did not intend to counsel patients on lifestyle changes in their practice. Conclusions Overweight prevalence increased among students, particularly males, over 17 years. Quarantine-induced lifestyle changes led to persistent weight issues, underscoring the need for health interventions and incorporating lifestyle medicine into medical education to foster lifelong health.