Obesity among young people increases lifetime cardiovascular risk. This study assesses the prevalence of overweight/obesity and its associated factors among a random sample of university students from 22 universities in 22 low, middle income and emerging economy countries. This cross-sectional survey comprised of a self-administered questionnaire and collected anthropometric measurements. The study population was 6773 (43.2%) males and 8913 (56.8%) females, aged 16 to 30 years (mean 20.8 years, SD = 2.6). Body mass index (BMI) was used for weight status. Among men, the prevalence of underweight was 10.8%, normal weight 64.4%, overweight 18.9% and obesity 5.8%, while among women, the prevalence of underweight was 17.6%, normal weight 62.1%, overweight 14.1% and obesity 5.2%. Overall, 22% were overweight or obese (24.7% men and 19.3% women). In multivariate regression among men, younger age, coming from a higher income country, consciously avoiding fat and cholesterol, physically inactivity, current tobacco use and childhood physical abuse, and among women older age, coming from a higher income country, frequent organized religious activity, avoiding fat and cholesterol, posttraumatic stress symptoms and physical childhood abuse were associated overweight or obesity. Several gender specific risk factors identified can be utilized in health promotion programmes.

This study was carried out to determine the general characteristics of Internet use among university students in Turkey and to examine the relation between the Internet use and the psychosocial conditions of the students. Among the 730 university students who participated, the average age was 20.84 (SD = 1.95), and the majority were females. The average Internet use period of the students was detected as 2.80 (SD = 1.33) years for females and 3.59 (SD = 1.60) years for males. The average score of the Online Cognition Scale (OCS) used for determining problematic use was 84.64 (SD = 33.50): for females, 77.99 (SD = 30.70); for males, 92.16 (SD = 34.96). Students of social sciences scored highest on the OCS. It was determined that as the OSC score increased, students' performance of Internet activities such as general information searches and academic research decreased and that performance of interactive and entertainment Internet activities such as chat, financial transactions, game playing, sex, downloading programs, and listening to MP3s increased. While a positive correlation was found between problematic use and loneliness and depression, a negative correlation was found between problematic use and perceived social support.

The aim of this study was to investigate Internet use habits and problematic Internet use (PIU) in Turkish adolescents. Participants were 3,975 undergraduate students, 7.6% of whom used the Internet for more than 12 hours weekly. The Online Cognition Scale (OCS) was used. The most common purpose for using the Internet was playing games, followed by general information search. Female users mostly preferred searching for general information; male users preferred playing games (p < 0.001, γ = 995.205). The most preferred type of game was violent games. While preference for strategy and fantasy role-play (FRP) games increased with age, preference for other games decreased (p < 0.0001, γ = 283.767). Participants who used the Internet mostly for general information searches and school-related searches had lower OCS scores (p < 0.0001). The highest OCS scores were related to violent games, followed by FRP, strategy, and sports and motor racing games. Computers and the Internet are useful, important inventions, but like other inventions, if used improperly, they may be harmful. Risk of harm raises concerns about who should use the Internet and computers, and where, when, and why the Internet and computers should be used.

Objectives: The nine-item Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire (PIUQ-9) is a brief self-report screening instrument for problematic internet use. The main objective of the present study was to explore the psychometric properties of the PIUQ-9 among nine different language-based samples of European internet users (Italian, German, French, Polish, Turkish, Hungarian, English, and Greek). Methods: The total sample comprised 5593 internet users (38.1% men), aged between 18 and 87 years (M = 25.81; SD = 8.61). Via online recruitment, participants completed the PIUQ-9, the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and items about time spent online. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the bifactor model with one general factor (i.e., general problem) and two-specific factors (i.e., obsession and neglect + control disorder) yielded acceptable or good fit indices in all subsamples except for one. The common variance index in the bifactor model indicated that the general problem factor explained from 57.0% to 76.5% of common variance, which supports the presence of a strong global factor. According to the multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) model, psychiatric symptoms had a moderate-to-strong direct effect on the general problem factor in all subsamples, ranging from β = .28 to β = .52 supporting the construct validity of the scale. Furthermore, in a majority of the subsamples, time spent online during the weekend had considerably higher effect sizes on the general problem factor than time spent online during weekdays. Conclusion: The present study highlights the appropriate psychometric properties of the PIUQ-9 across a number of European languages and cultures.