| Introduction: The health epidemic in the United States is of main concern due to one–third of US adults being obese. With this statistic growing each year individuals are experiencing a disconnect between how they perceive their health and what their health status is with regards to anthropometric data. With the use of the Internet, individuals have the ability to obtain health information, which may not be reliable. The primary purpose of the study was to determine how individuals seek health and fitness information and how they are then able to apply that information to their health status. Methods: Students were recruited from the student center at William Paterson University. Students completed the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) to determine health and fitness habits. A total of 47 college students were recruited (25 men, 22 women). Height, weight, waist and hip circumference measures were collected to provide anthropometric measures of the health of students. Results: A crosstabulation was used to demonstrate that no matter how many days per week individual's exercise, the Internet is the main source for seeking health information. A Chi-square test was used to analyze actual BMI and estimated BMI, with the level of significance set to p<0.001. Statistical significance was shown determining that participants underestimated their weight. Chi-square test was also statistically significant at p<0.05 to analyze WHRatio and number of days per week individual's exercise demonstrating the dependence that WHRatio has on the exercise frequency. Conclusion: The information found from this study alludes to the fact that individuals are not receiving the correct information or do not know how to apply the correct information in order to live healthy. Although, individuals are using the Internet as their main source of seeking health information they are not applying the information correctly. Therefore, the Internet is no substitute for information available from qualified professionals. |
