Prevalence and determinants of obesity among medical students at Al Maarefa University, Saudi Arabia, 2022

Background: Our healthcare system's future is in the hands of current medical students, the purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors for obesity among Al-Maarefa medical students. This is significant because of society's perception of medical students, because they will be doctors in the future. As a result, we'd like to encourage the university to launch an educational program. Objective: Identifying the prevalence and causes of obesity among Saudi medical students at Al-Maarefa University. Methodology: A cross-sectional study of med students at Al-Maarefa University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was done. After obtaining permission from the college administration, 450 medical students were given self-administered, pre-coded, pre-tested questionnaires. Results: The study included 402 med students who answered to the survey. The mean age was 22 years, with 37.79% in clinical years and 62.21% in preclinical years. 51% of participants were female, while 49% were male. Conclusions: 10.20% of participants were underweight, 21.39% were overweight and 13.2% were obese, according to our findings. Obesity was more prevalent among students in clinical years. Male undergraduates were more likely over female students to be obese. Obesity risk factors included age and a family history of the condition. This study discovered a high prevalence of overweight and obese individuals among medical students. This highlighted the importance of educational programs.