Paper: Association of Body Mass Index, Stages of Change, Alcohol Consumption, and Consequences of Drinking in College Freshman (Sigma Theta Tau International's 21st International Nursing Research Congress)

Tuesday, 13 July 2010: 4:25 PM

Mary A. Nies, PhD, RN, FAAN, FAAHB¹
Linman Sun²
Donna Kazemi, PhD³
Amy Carriker, BSN³
Jacek Dmochowski, PhD²
1College of Health and Human Services School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
2Math Department, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
3School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC

Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to assess the relationship between body mass index and drinking in college freshmen students.

Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to assess the differences between men and women college students regarding body mass index.

Purpose: This study assessed the relationship between body mass index (BMI), stages of change, number of drinks, and consequences of drinking in college freshman. Research on association between body mass index and drinking is needed to better understand alcohol risk reduction and health promotion strategies in this vulnerable population. Health promotion concepts frame the study. Methods: College freshman (N=199) at a university, completed the Drinking Questionnaire, The Brief Readiness to Change Questionnaire (RCQ) and the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index (RAPI). Drinking amount and RAPI served as outcomes and BMI was the independent variable. Multiple regression was used to assess association between outcomes and BMI with adjustments for gender and RCQ. Results: 39% of participants were females, 54.2% were in pre-contemplation, 14.3% in contemplation, and 31.5% in active stage. Average BMI was 24 kg/m2, participants consumed 13.5 drinks per week, and mean RAPI scores were 11 on the 0-69 scale. Drinking was associated with gender, BMI and RCQ (p<0.0001). For males pre-contemplating change, relation between BMI and amount of drinking was non-linear. Participants with average BMI drank the least (about 12 drinks per week), with the largest BMI the most (almost 50 drinks) while participants with lowest BMI in between (about 21 drinks). RAPI scores were associated with gender, amount of drinking and BMI (p<0.001, F=13.44). Increase of RAPI was larger for females (slope= 0.06) than for males (slope= 0.03). Participants with large BMI had lower RAPI scores. Conclusion: This information can be helpful when providing health promotion strategies to college students regarding nutrition modifications that would be most beneficial for their health.

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