Structural body composition profile and obesity prevalence at female students of the University of Belgrade measured by multichannel bioimpedance protocol

Aim. University students represent a specific group of young people in the final phase of biological, social and professional maturing and, at the same time, they are finishing their education and preparing themselves for long life obligations and period of living as an adult. The aim of this study was to determine the quantitative characteristics, descriptive models and prevalence of the body structure of the female students of the University of Belgrade. Material and Methods. The sample consisted of 862 female students of the University of Belgrade (26 Faculties) from all study programs (from bachelor to PhD). The average age of students was: 22.2 ± 2.6 years. The whole sample was divided into eight BMI sub-classes according to WHO standards. All measurements were performed in the period 2014-2018 and were conducted according to the standardized procedure, using the InBody 720 measurement system. Results. Based on the results of the BMI prevalence, it can be argued that 6.85 % of female students are underweight, 80.14 % has normal BMI value, 9.64 % are overweight and only 3.13 % of the students are obese. Considering percent of body fat (PBF) as a criteria of nutritional status, 0.5 % of female students had PBF under the essential biological level (below the 10.0 % limit), 1.9 % had PBF at an essential level, 19.4 % had PBF at the level of athletes, 33.3 % had fitness level of PBF, 29.4 % had normal body fat level, and the percent of the sample in the obese category was as high as 15.6 %. Results of ANOVA Regression have shown that trend of body fat changes per kg•m-2 of BMI was between 1.5496 and 1.5181 % depending on the regression model, with a standard error of estimation value of 4.59 % of body fat. Conclusion. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that the morphological status of the female students of the University of Belgrade is at the level of persons with normal BMI, but with twice as big prevalence of underweight (6.85 %), i.e. malnutrition, than obesity (3.13 %), i.e. overnutrition.