In the first part of the result section, findings are presented based on the academic performance of students. In the second part, results are grouped based on gender differences.
Part I:
Demographic characteristics
Out of the 500 students screened, 400 met the inclusion criteria. Of these, ten refused to participate, and five had missing data and thus excluded from the study. The overall response rate was 77%. Completed data was obtained from 385 undergraduate students aged 18-24 from different colleges. Half of them aged 18-20 years and 95 (24.7%) were males. Students (n = 55, 14.3%) had low academic performance (GPA ≤ 2.99) compared to high performers (GPA ≥ 3.00, n = 330, 85.7%). Few students were smokers (n = 69, 18%) who were mostly males, and only 19 (5%) of the students stayed in hostels. Results also showed that few female (n = 15, 4%) students had low academic performance compared to their counterparts (n = 40, 14%, P < 0.0005). Besides, most of the high performers were non-smokers and did not stay in hostels (Table 1).
Table 1: Demographic characteristics of Taibah University students based on their academic performance as defined by GPA. The total number of students is 385. Number (%) are shown
|
|
GPA ≤ 2.99
n (%)
|
GPA ≥ 3.00
n (%)
|
P-value*
|
Gender
|
<0.0005
|
Males
|
40 (72.7)
|
55 (16.7)
|
|
Females
|
15 (27.3)
|
275 (83.5)
|
|
Age (years)
|
0.172
|
18-20
|
23 (41.8)
|
171 (51.8)
|
|
21-24
|
32 (58.2)
|
159 (48.2)
|
|
Smoking status
|
<0.001
|
Smokers
|
22 (40)
|
47 (14.2)
|
|
Non-smokers
|
33 (60)
|
283 (85.8)
|
|
Residence in hostels
|
0.026
|
Non-hostels
|
47 (85.5)
|
319 (96.7)
|
|
Hostels
|
8 (14.5)
|
11 (3.3)
|
|
*P-value was obtained using Independent Student t-test. Most of the high academic performers were females, aged 18-20 years, were non-smokers and did not stay in hostels.
Anthropometric measurements:
The mean BMI of students was within the normal range, and there were no significant differences between low (24.0 ± 5.6 Kgm-2) and high academic performers (23.0 ± 5.0 Kgm-2, P = 0.253). The distribution of BMI amongst high and low academic performers is presented in Figure 1.
Dietary pattern:
Overall, there were no significant differences between high and low academic performers regarding their dietary patterns (Table 2). Students (n = 273, 71%) reported having on average, two meals daily during the previous week and consumed fast foods 0-2 times/week. Besides, 308 students (80%) consumed soft drinks 0-2 times/week. Daily breakfast consumption was reported by few students (n = 150, 39%) only (Results not shown in Table 2).
Table 2: The dietary habits of Taibah University students based on their academic performance as defined by GPA. The total number of students is 385. Number (%) are shown.
|
|
GPA ≤ 2.99
n (%)
|
GPA ≥ 3.00
n (%)
|
P-value*
|
Number of meals
|
|
|
|
Mean (SD)a
|
2.05 (0.9)
|
2.07 (0.9)
|
0.89
|
1-2 meals daily
|
42 (76.4)
|
231 (70)
|
|
>3 meals daily
|
13 (23.6)
|
99 (30)
|
|
Frequency of Fast food consumption
|
0.397
|
0-2 times/week
|
41 (74.6)
|
233 (70.6)
|
|
3-5 times/week
|
12 (21.8)
|
75 (22.7)
|
|
Daily
|
2 (3.6)
|
22 (6.7)
|
|
Consumption of Soft drinks
|
0.116
|
0-2 times/week
|
10 (18.2)
|
267 (80.8)
|
|
3-5 times/week
|
5 (9.1)
|
36 (11)
|
|
Daily
|
40 (72.7)
|
27 (8.2)
|
|
Consumption of Breakfast
|
0.471
|
0-2 times/week
|
24 (43.7)
|
148 (44.8)
|
|
3-5 times/week
|
13 (23.6)
|
49 (14.9)
|
|
Daily
|
18 (32.7)
|
133 (40.3)
|
|
*P-value is obtained using Independent Student t-test. aGeometric mean, SD= standard deviation
Multiple Regression:
Academic performance was significantly affected by gender. Females had better performance than their counterparts (Table 3). Residence in hostels affected the academic performance negatively; those who resided in their homes had a better academic performance. Besides, BMI affected the performance negatively; those with higher BMI values had low performance.
Table 3: Factors affecting the academic performance of students at Taibah University
|
Factors
|
B
|
SE
|
Beta
|
95% CI
|
P-value
|
Gender
|
0.331
|
0.041
|
0.408
|
0.250 to 0.412
|
<0.0005
|
BMI
|
-0.093
|
0.029
|
-0.243
|
-0.150 to -0.037
|
0.001
|
Residence in hostels
|
-0.171
|
0.076
|
-0.106
|
-0.320 to -0.022
|
0.024
|
R2 = 0.264; R = 0.513; Multiple Regression model was used with GPA being the dependent variable. Gender, BMI, and residence in hostels significantly affected the academic performance of Taibah University students.
Part II:
Gender differences
Gender was one of the factors that affected academic performance. Independent Student t-test revealed that there were statistical differences between male and female students in their academic performance, selected demographics characteristics, BMI, and dietary habits. Females had higher academic performance, were mostly non-smoker, and did not reside in hostels compared to their counterparts (Table 4). Half of the females had normal weight and consumed a few numbers of meals daily. Fast-food consumption was not a common practice among female students. Also, more male students were overweight and/or obese (43%) than females (30%, P = 0.049).
Table 4: Demographic characteristics, BMI, and dietary pattern of Taibah students. The total number of students is 385. Number (%) are shown.
|
|
Males (n = 95)
|
Females (n = 290)
|
P-value*
|
Accumulative GPA for the last semester
|
|
Mean (SD)a
|
2.72 (0.8)
|
3.53 (0.6)
|
<0.0005
|
≤ 2.99
|
40 (42)
|
15 (5.2)
|
|
≥ 3.00
|
55 (58)
|
275 (94.8)
|
|
Number of meals
|
|
|
|
Mean (SD)
|
2.31 (1.0)§
|
1.99 (0.8)
|
0.006
|
1-2 meals daily
|
60 (63.2)
|
213 (73.4)
|
|
>3 meals daily
|
35 (36.8)
|
77 (26.6)
|
|
Frequency of Fast food consumption
|
<0.0005
|
0-2 times/week
|
58 (61.0)
|
216 (74.5)
|
|
3-5 times/week
|
30 (31.6)
|
57 (19.5)
|
|
Daily
|
7 (7.4)
|
17 (6.0)
|
|
Residence in hostels
|
<0.0005
|
Non-hostels
|
83 (87.4)
|
283 (97.6)
|
|
Hostels
|
12 (12.6)
|
7 (2.4)
|
|
Smoking status
|
|
Smokers
|
42 (44.2)
|
27 (9.3)
|
<0.0005
|
BMI classification (Kgm-2)
|
Mean (SD)a
|
24.2 (5.4)§
|
22.8 (5.0)
|
0.049
|
Underweight
|
15 (15.8)
|
57 (19.7)
|
|
Normal
|
39 (41.1)
|
147 (50.7)
|
|
Overweight
|
29 (30.5)
|
62 (21.4)
|
|
Obeseb
|
12 (12.6)
|
24 (8.3)
|
|
*P-values are obtained from Independent Student t-test. Only significantly different parameters are shown. aGeometric mean, SD= standard deviation; bObese refers to BMI ≥30 Kgm-2.
Table 5: Gender differences based on academic performance, demographic characteristics, and dietary pattern at Taibah University
|
Factors
|
B
|
SE
|
Beta
|
95% CI
|
P-value
|
GPA
|
0.445
|
0.055
|
0.361
|
0.336 to 0.553
|
<0.0005
|
Smoking status
|
0.314
|
0.049
|
0.279
|
0.217 to 0.411
|
<0.0005
|
Residence in hostels
|
-0.207
|
0.087
|
0.139
|
-0.379 to 0.035
|
0.018
|
Number of meals
|
-0.064
|
0.014
|
-0.13
|
-0.105 to -0.024
|
0.002
|
Fast-food consumption
|
0.045
|
0.014
|
0.139
|
0.018 to 0.073
|
0.001
|
R2 = 0.350; R = 0.592; Multiple Regression model was used with gender being the dependent variable. The GPA, smoking status, residence in hostels, number of meals, and fast food consumption were significantly different among Taibah University students.
Among females, Pearson's correlation showed that GPA correlated positively with the number of meals consumed daily (r = 0.13, P = 0.029). Females' BMI increased with increasing soft drink (r = 0.16, P = 0.008) and fast food consumption (r = 0.13, P = 0.03). On the other hand, the dietary pattern of male students did not affect their academic performance. Males' BMI negatively affected their performance (r= -0.24, P = 0.02). Multiple Regression model indicated that there were gender differences in terms of their academic performance, smoking status, housing status, number of meals, and fast food consumption (Table 5).