Abstract
BACKGROUND: Obesity is defined as an excess of body fat. This medical condition frequently results in a high BMI and an increased risk of a variety of health problems, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain types of cancer. Cigarette smoking includes inhaling smoke created by the combustion of tobacco. It is linked to a variety of health issues, including lung cancer, heart disease, and respiratory ailments, and is a primary cause of preventable disease and premature death worldwide. The association between obesity and cigarette smoking is complex and incompletely understood. This study aims to investigate the intriguing association between obesity and cigarette smoking among diverse college students at Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. METHODOLOGY: The study was conducted as an observational study, specifically an analytical cross-sectional study, to measure the prevalence of cigarette smoking and obesity and their association. This type of study is chosen because of its advantages including targeting a large sample in a short time and inexpensive way, with no loss to follow-up, unlike some other study designs. RESULTS: In this study, we were able to collect data from 603 participants, of which 57.4% were male and 67.8% of them aged between 20 and 24 years old. Moreover, we found that 39.6% had normal weight; however, the prevalence of obesity, overweight, and underweight were 24%, 28.1%, and 8.3%, respectively. Considering the prevalence of smoking, we found that 22.6% of the participants reported being current smokers, while 5.3% were former smokers. There is a significant difference between participants with different BMIs (P=0.001). The prevalence of smoking was significantly higher in obese and overweighted participants (35.1% and 31.3%, respectively) compared with 28.4% in normal-weighted participants. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of smoking and obesity in this study was significantly higher than reported in different studies. Moreover, we found a significant relationship between smoking and obesity; however, further investigation should be conducted to determine the cause of this relationship.