Factors Related to Health Promotion Behaviors among Students in a University in Bangkok
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Abstract
Having good health is essential for good quality of life that health promotion will lead to
suitable health promotion behaviors and the management of related factors of the individual. This
cross-sectional survey research aimed to study factors related to health promotion behaviors of
university students in Bangkok. Three hundred and twenty two first year students of a university in
Bangkok in the academic year of 2017 were randomly selected. Data was collected using a selfadministered questionnaire comprised of questions about health promotion behaviors regarding
dietary and exercise, general characteristics of the students, value, perceived self-efficacy, and
enabling and reinforcing factors that related to the behavioral practices. Descriptive and Chi-square
test statistic were used to analyze the data. Results of the study were as follows: there were male
sample students than female with the percentage of 74.1 and 25.9 respectively; their age was
between 18-38 years with the average age of 21.7 years and 61.3 percent were in the age group of
20-24 year; 72.5 percent were engineering students; and 59.1 percent lived in dormitory while
studying at the university. Majority of the sample students, 76.3 and 72.8 percent, had the dietary
and exercise health promotion behaviors at the low level that should be improved. Factors that
significantly associated with the dietary behaviors were value in food consumption and self-efficacy
to eat healthy food (p<0.05). Factor that significantly related to the exercise behaviors was selfefficacy to perform exercise (p<0.05). While enabling and reinforcing factors were not significantly
related to both the dietary and exercise behaviors. Therefore, a university should launch health
promotion activities for the first year students, specifically the freshly and continuing students of all
Faculties. The value and self-efficacy enhancement regarding health promotion behaviors should
be emphasized.