An examination of the relationship between selected demographic variables, behavioral intention, and self-reported behavior toward the obese among college students

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between selected demographic variables (age, sex, academic major, BMI, & race/ethnicity), behavioral intention, and self-reported behavior toward the obese among college students. The subjects used in this study were acquired from a population of college students at an urban university in the south central region of the United States who were enrolled in a personal health class required for graduation.; Two instruments used in this research to measure the dependent variables of behavioral intention and behavior were modified from a previously used questionnaire, the Shared Activities Questionnaire (SAQ-B), which was designed for the elementary student. The behavioral intention instrument, the College Obesity Attitude Scale (COAS), and the behavior instrument, the College Obesity Behavior Scale (COBS), were written to be more suitable for the reading level and daily life experiences of a college student.; Pearson correlation analysis with linear regression, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), independent t-test analysis, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were utilized for hypothesis testing. A statistically significant relationship was found between behavioral intention and self-reported behavior toward the obese among this sample of college students. Also, statistically significant differences were found when comparing the demographic variables of age, sex, BMI, and race/ethnicity to both dependent variables. Age and BMI were both found to have a statistically significant relationship with behavior toward the obese. Additionally, there was a statistically significant difference between the independent variable of sex and behavior toward the obese. No significant differences were found between academic major and race/ethnicity, and behavior toward the obese. Recommendations are discussed in relation to linking the specific demographic variable and possible strategies to maintain positive or modify negative behavioral intentions and behaviors toward the obese.