ABSTRACT
Objective@#The status of masked obesity in female college students and the related factors were investigated to provide a theoretical reference for instructing the physical health education of female college students and improving their physical exercises.@*Methods@#Body composition tests were performed on 2 975 female college students, selected from 3 colleges in North China by using cluster sampling method during October to December in 2018, and their basic information and lifestyle were investigated using questionnaires.@*Results@#The incidence of masked obesity among female college students was 33.18%, of which 2.53% came from low-weight people. The difference in the incidence of masked obesity among female college students with different take-out frequencies was statistically significant (χ2=21.98, P<0.01). Compared with those who never take takeaway, people who take takeaway every day have an increased risk of masked obesity (OR=1.49, 95%CI=0.76-2.91). The difference in the incidence of masked obesity with the frequency of eating midnight snack was statistically significant (χ2=20.80, P<0.05). The difference in the incidence of masked obesity among female college students with different exercise time was statistically significant (χ2=18.49, P<0.01). Compared with exercise time above 60 min/d, female college students who are not exercising have an increased risk of masked obesity (OR=3.20, 95%CI=1.63-6.30). The difference in the incidence of masked obesity among female college students with different weight satisfaction was statistically significant (χ2=217.54, P<0.01). Compared with female college students who were satisfied with weight, female college students who were not satisfied with weight had an increased risk of masked obesity (OR=3.47, 95%CI=1.91-6.31). The difference in the incidence of masked obesity in different weightdown plans is statistically significant (χ2=186.40, P<0.01). Those who want to lose weight have a higher risk of developing masked obesity than those who want to gain weight (OR=18.11, 95%CI=5.54-50.13).@*Conclusion@#Female college students who drink a small amount of water, eat takeaways often, eat midnight snacks, do not exercise, and are not satisfied with their weight are more likely to develop masked obesity.