{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T06:03:46Z","timestamp":1789625026893,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789603200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"\n Introduction<\/jats:title>\n Overweight and obesity have emerged as a public health concern, particularly among university students. This increasing prevalence is linked with unhealthy lifestyles consisting of poor dietary choices, and physical inactivity, most commonly reported among students.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Objective<\/jats:title>\n The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of both overweight and obesity, and their socio-demographic correlates within the twin cities (Islamabad and Rawalpindi), Pakistan.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n A cross-sectional study was conducted among 502 students, selected via convenience sampling, enrolled in public and private universities in the twin cities. Data was collected on socio-demographic correlates and lifestyle factors, using a structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27, and chi-square test, binary logistic regression, and adjusted odds ratio, were used to determine associations between sociodemographic variables, lifestyle factors and obesity.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n The mean age was 21.87\u202f\u00b1\u202f2.27\u202fyears, while 80.7% were females. Based on Asian cut-offs for Body Mass Index (BMI), 25.5% were underweight (&lt;18.5\u202fkg\/m\n 2<\/jats:sup>\n ), 15.3% were overweight (23.0 to 27.4\u202fkg\/m\n 2<\/jats:sup>\n ), and 12.9% were obese (27.5\u202fkg\/m\n 2<\/jats:sup>\n and above). Gender (\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001), monthly household income (\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.043), maternal education (\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.030) and having a medical condition (\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.025) were all significantly associated with obesity. However, once adjusted, only gender (adjusted odds ratio (aOR\u202f=\u202f0.428), CI: 0.236\u20130.776,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.005) remained significantly associated with obesity, with female sex depicting lower odds of obesity compared with male sex.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n Our study found a significant proportion of the study participants to be overweight (15.3%) and obese (12.9%). Gender, household income, maternal education, and having a prior medical condition, all emerged as significant associated factors of obesity in the current study. Primary prevention interventions aimed at university settings are vital to prevent and manage obesity risk factors and hence combat the increasing overweight and obesity trends among university students.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1895592","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T05:32:33Z","timestamp":1789623153000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of overweight and obesity among university students in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Pakistan: a cross-sectional study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Abdul Momin Rizwan","family":"Ahmad","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, NUST School of Health Sciences, National University of Sciences and Technology","place":["Islamabad, Pakistan"]},{"name":"Department of Health Sciences, University of York","place":["York, United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zoha Imtiaz","family":"Malik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, NUST School of Health Sciences, National University of Sciences and Technology","place":["Islamabad, Pakistan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Saira","family":"Zafar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, Health Services Academy","place":["Islamabad, Pakistan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Syed Hassan Bin Umsan","family":"Shah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health, PRIME Consulting","place":["Islamabad, Pakistan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rida Fatima","family":"Saeed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biotechnology, National University of Medical Sciences","place":["Rawalpindi, Pakistan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Umar","family":"Farooq","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, National University of Medical Sciences","place":["Rawalpindi, Pakistan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Juweria","family":"Abid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, NUST School of Health Sciences, National University of Sciences and Technology","place":["Islamabad, Pakistan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sehar","family":"Iqbal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Pharmacy, Al Ain University","place":["Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Muhammad","family":"Irfan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Statistics, Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College","place":["Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Saima","family":"Iqbal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, National University of Medical Sciences","place":["Rawalpindi, Pakistan"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Saleh A.","family":"Alsanie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University","place":["Buraydah, Saudi Arabia"]},{"name":"Department of Clinical Nutrition, Medical City, Qassim University","place":["Buraydah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"q527","DOI":"10.1136\/BMJ.Q527","article-title":"One in eight people globally are obese, with rates in children 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