Overweight and obesity were common among 196 Saudi university students (37.2%), and male sex and age >23 years were associated with higher BMI and overweight/obesity, whereas evidence for independent associations of the selected lifestyle measures was limited and imprecise.
More than one third of the surveyed university students had overweight or obesity.
BMI category was not significantly associated with the selected dietary, physical-activity, and sleep measures in contingency-table analyses.
Electronic-device use before bed showed a sparse-cell association with BMI category that the authors consider exploratory.
In adjusted linear regression, male sex and age >23 years were associated with higher BMI.
In adjusted logistic regression, male sex and age >23 years were associated with higher odds of overweight/obesity.
Evidence for independent associations between the selected lifestyle measures and BMI was limited and imprecise, and the design precludes causal inference.
This study surveyed 196 students at one Saudi university using an online questionnaire. Students reported their own height and weight, from which body mass index (BMI) was calculated, and answered questions about diet, physical activity, sleep, and background. About 37% of students had overweight or obesity, while about 9% were underweight and about 54% were in the normal range. The study did not find clear links between BMI and the lifestyle habits it measured. One possible link between using electronic devices before bed and BMI category appeared, but it rested on very small group sizes, so the authors treat it as tentative. The clearest differences were by sex and age: male students and students older than 23 had higher BMI and were more likely to have overweight or obesity. This research suggests that overweight and obesity are common in this student group and that men and older students may be groups of particular interest. The findings should be read cautiously. The sample was small and from a single university, weights and heights were self-reported, and a survey taken at one point in time cannot show whether any factor causes weight differences.
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Upload Your LabsAlafif N, Tharkar S, Alharbi R, Althobaiti H, Alamry R, Al-Harbi R, et al.. (2026). Body mass index and health-related lifestyle behaviors among university students in Saudi Arabia: a single center cross-sectional study.. Frontiers in public health. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1900451