A Cross-Sectional Study on Health Risk Behaviours among Students of Professional Courses in a College Located in a Coastal City of Andhra Pradesh

Background: Background: Health risk behaviours adopted during adolescence and young adulthood are important determinants of morbidity and mortality in later life. Students of professional courses, being future opinion leaders and role models, are expected to demonstrate healthy lifestyle practices; however, this population remains under-studied in coastal Andhra Pradesh. The objective is to assess the multiple health risk behaviours among students of professional courses in a college and to determine the association between these behaviours and socio-demographic covariates. Material and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 402 undergraduate students of medical, dental, nursing and engineering courses at a college in Visakhapatnam city over a two-month period (August-September 2021) using a pre-tested, semi-structured, self-administered, anonymous questionnaire covering physical activity, mobile phone and social media use, dietary habits, road user behavior and substance use. Data were summarized using means, standard deviations, frequencies and percentages, and associations were tested using the chi-square test. Results: The mean age of participants was 21.13 ± 1.50 years, with 69.4% females. Only 20.9% of students engaged in physical activity for more than 300 minutes per week, while 49.2% used mobile phones for more than 6 hours per day. Fast food was consumed by 61.4% of students and soft drinks by 46.5%. Seat belts and helmets were used consistently by 41.3% and 42.3% of students respectively, and 22.6% reported a history of road traffic accidents. Addictions were present in 5.7% of students, with alcohol (2.5%) and smoking (1.7%) being the most common. Significant associations were observed between gender and mobile phone usage, social media use, fast food and soft drink consumption, road traffic accidents and addictions (p<0.05), and between enrolled course/year of study and several risk behaviours. Conclusion: Health risk behaviours are widely prevalent among students of professional courses, with notable gender and course-wise variation. Early, integrated, student-centered health promotion and life-skills education strategies are recommended to reduce the future burden of preventable non-communicable disease among this influential population subgroup.

Keywords: Health risk behaviour; Cross-sectional study; Professional course students; Physical activity; Substance abuse; Road traffic accidents.