Actividad física y enfermedades crónicas no transmisibles de estudiantes mexicanosen función del género

Physical inactivity is one of the determinants of overweight and obesity and a risk factor for developing chronic non-transmissible diseases. The purpose of this study is to describe the overall personal health perceived by a population of Mexican university students in relation to physical activity levels. The sample, randomly selected using proportional affixation, was composed of 1,431 students. An ad-hoc questionnaire, integrated by elements of restricted protocol ISAK, IPAQ, and SD36, was adopted in order to collect information. Among the main results, 47.9% of women perform light activities and 48.7% of men perform moderate activities. Regarding perception of personal health, 59.8% of man range from excellent to very good, whereas the same range is found for 45.8% of women. Those who spend more time being physical active have better attitude towards their personal health. However, the measurement of the abdominal perimeter highlighted that 40% of the sample are at risk. The diseases associated with sedentary lifestyle and hypercaloric diets mentioned are: obesity and overweight (14%), and cardiovascular diseases and high triglycerides (1.7%). Our outcomes, showing high overweight and obesity at the same time as low levels of physical activity, demonstrate a compromised health that may detonate on university students' personal life on the short term, as well as on their labor productivity after their graduation.