A CORRELATION BETWEEN BODY MASS INDEX AND HANDGRIP STRENGTH AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS AT NORTHERN BORDER UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Mohamed M Abd El Mawgod*, Dr. Hassan Mohammad, Dr.Saud Saleh Alanazi, Dr. Nawaf Salem Alanazi, Dr. Raghad Abdulaziz Alanazi and Dr. Rahaf Saad Alanazi

Objective: To study the correlation between body mass index (BMI) and hand grip strength (HGS) among undergraduate medical students.at Northern Border University. Saudi Arabia.

Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was utilized, a handheld dynamometer was used to measure the dominant hand's HGS, and body mass index (BMI) was determined: BMI =Weight in kilograms/(Height in meters)2. Pearson's correlation test was used to perform the correlation analysis, and student t-test and ANOVA were used for the association of the quantitative variable.

Results: A total of 198 medical students of both sexes (98 males, 99 females) were included, their mean age 21.9±1.8. Among the male group, HGS and BMI have a very weak positive correlation (P-value >0.05), whereas among the females there is a very slight negative correlation (P-value >0.05). Male participants showed significantly higher HGS than females((P-value<0.001).

Conclusion: Among the studied participants, HGS and BMI had a very weak positive correlation in the male group and a very weak negative correlation in the female group. HGS was noticeably higher in male participants than in female participants. Keywords: Hand grip strength, Body Mass Index, Correlation, Medical student, Saudi Arabia