Body mass index (BMI) and hemoglobin (Hb) in the assessment of elimam-elmahadi university students nutritional status-white Nile state-Sudan

Anemia is the common nutritional problem worldwide, recent studies showed that young adults specially females are at increased risk of anemia. The BMI has been used by the WHO as the standard for recording obesity statistics since the early 1980s. We studied 376 students, males were 178 students (47.3%) and females were 198 (52.7%). Students with normal Hb were 353 students (93.9%) and low Hb in 23 students (6.1%). Students with normal weight were 255 students (67.8%), underweight in 74 students (19.7%), over weight in 44 students(11.7%) and obesity in 3 students (0.8%). In Elimam Elmahadi university underweight students also had low Hb and more studies were need to evaluate the etiology of low Hb.