Abstract
Introduction: The increasing number of university students who suffer from obesity and other lifestyle-related health issues has highlighted the necessity of successful health awareness campaigns. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess how a structured awareness program affected pharmacy students at Marathwada Mitra Mandal's College of Pharmacy in Pune's eating patterns, levels of physical activity, obesity-related factors, and health awareness. Material and Method: A survey-based study involving 300 pharmacy students, ages 17 to 24, was carried out for three months before and after the intervention. Five components of a standardized, validated questionnaire were used to gather data: demographics, physical activity, nutritional diet, obesity and health-related factors, and behavior and awareness. For continuous variables, a paired t-test was used, and for categorical data, chi-square tests; a P-value of less than 0.05 was deemed statistically significant. Results: The mean scores for body weight satisfaction, physical activity, health behaviour and awareness, and nutritional diet all showed significant improvements (p<0.05). Chi-square analysis showed a decrease in weight-related health problems and a substantial increase in participation in weight management programs and prior weight management attempts. Conclusion: At Marathwada Mitra Mandal's College of Pharmacy, the awareness intervention program effectively improved students' knowledge of body weight control, physical activity, health-related behaviours, and nutritional practices. These findings emphasize how crucial it is to put in place organized health education programs at pharmacy schools in order to encourage young adults to lead better lifestyles.