Abstract

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Female Students towards CVD and Prevalence of Obesity and Hypertension in Arar, Saudi Arabia

Objective: To investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of female students towards CVD in Arar, Saudi Arabia and the prevalence of obesity and hypertension among them. Methods: A total of 150 female students participated in this study and their anthropometric measurements and blood pressure was determined. Other data including sociodemographics, knowledge, attitude and practice questions on CVD were obtained through a questionnaire. Results: Out of 150 participants, 20.66% were pre-hypertensive and only 1.33% was hypertensive. Regarding BMI, 11.33% students were underweight, 26.66% were overweight and only 7.33% were obese. All the anthropometric variables were found to be significantly (p<0.05) correlated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Majority of the students considered that increased intake of fat, smoking, high blood pressure, and high LDL cholesterol are the major risk factors for CVD, however, they were ignorant about few important factors involved in the CVD, like diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure, increased use of salt and family history. Majority of the respondents believed that they must keep a check on their BP, serum cholesterol, blood sugar and maintain normal body weight. They were aware that CVD could be prevented by adopting a healthy lifestyle; however, there was a lack of practicing a healthy lifestyle in most of them. Conclusion: The study suggests that the younger generation’s knowledge of CVD must be enhanced and they must be encouraged to change their lifestyle and dietary habits to avoid this lethal problem.

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