Association between Dietary Behavior and Overweight and Obesity among Chinese Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Ningbo students and explore the association between students' dietary behavior and overweight and obesity. Materials and Methods: A total of 7299 students were recruited, including 3755 males and 3544 females. A questionnaire on student health status and influencing factors was used to investigate dietary behavior. Logistic regression analysis investigated the relationship between dietary behavior and overweight and obesity. Age, gender, area, grade, sleep duration, and physical activity were adjusted in the multivariate regression models. Results: This study revealed that the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Ningbo students was 16.14% and 9.88%, respectively. The logistic regression analysis results showed that regular consumption of sugary beverages was associated with a higher risk of being overweight (OR = 1.256, 95% CI: 1.023-1.542, p = 0.029). The research indicated that skipping breakfast was considered a risk factor for obesity (OR = 2.102, 95% CI: 1.087-4.065, p = 0.027). After adjusting for age, gender, area, and grade and continuing to adjust for sleep duration and physical activity, the results showed that consuming fried food at least once a day increased the risk of obesity (OR = 1.494, 95% CI: 1.050-2.125, p = 0.026; OR = 1.516, 95% CI: 1.065-2.158, p = 0.021, respectively). This study found that the frequency of breakfast and the consumption of fried food, fresh vegetables, and fruits were not significantly associated with being overweight (p > 0.05). Conclusions: This study indicated that dietary behavior was related to overweight and obesity among Ningbo students. Further studies and more government support are required to confirm this study's findings and address the current overweight/obesity problems.