Analysis of lifestyle of young adults in the rural and urban areas

An unhealthy lifestyle among young people is a serious and often unnoticed problem. It seems that there are differences in the lifestyle of young people from rural and urban areas. The objective of this study was to compare eating habits and physical activity of young adults according to their body weight, gender and place of residence. The study involved a group of 18-year-olds from rural and urban environments. The study included 50% girls and 50% of boys in each group, selected by simple random sampling (SRS). The author-designed questionnaire evaluating the nutrition habits and physical activity was provided. It was found that in the group of boys the value of BMI was markedly higher than in girls. Compared to the normal weight, young overweight adults ate meals more frequency, the majority preferred meat dishes, more often ate under the stress, and had lower physical activity. It was found that gender had a significant impact on the studied parameters. The girls ate meals more frequent during the day, the majority preferred fruit and vegetable, but had lower physical activity than the boys. It was found that the young adults from the rural area preferred fast food and frequently ate sweets. Compared to the subjects from the urban environment, the young adults living in the countryside consumed fewer meals daily and were more physical active. About a half of the studied adults were not satisfied with their weight, and nearly 40% of the subjects in both groups admitted that they had made effective or ineffective attempts to lose weight. The lifestyles of young people in rural and urban areas were slightly different; however, dietary factors which predispose to weight gain were comparable in both groups. In the rural areas, the most frequent nutritional faults were a preference for fast food, frequent consumption of sweets, and few meals during the day. A positive aspect of the lifestyle of young people in the rural areas was a relatively high level of physical activity and the small effect of stress on excessive consumption.