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Abstract Obesity is a common public health problem of the 21st century because it is the leading cause of death worldwide, with increasing prevalence in adults and children. It has reached an epidemic proportion globally, with more than one billion adults’ world wide being obese. The study’ aim was to determine the perceived personal, social and environmental factors that lead to obesity among university students. Method and Subjects: A cross sectional design was used. A sample of 1000 students of the first, second, third and fourth year. Setting Faculty of Art and Nursing in Shebin Elkom- Menofia University were chosen by simple random sample. Tools: Three tools were utilized for data collection. An interview questionnaire including; Sociodemographic data and medical history of the student and her family, Measure some aspects of student’s life style as physical activity and eating habits, Students knowledge about obesity and perceived factors to weight maintenance questionnaire. Biophsiological measurement. Results: age of the studied sample ranged from 18-24 years old, with mean of 19.95±1.05. There was statistically significant difference between two faculties’ students regarding information about the importance of physical activity, and weighing regularly. The result showed lack of time, no safe environment and lack of access to the places for physical activity. There was statistically significant difference between normal vs overweight and obese students regarding support from spouse or family members for physical activity Conclusion: lack of time, no safe environment, lack of access to the places for physical activity and unhealthy diet lead to obesity. Recommendation: Improving student’s knowledge about nutrition and healthy eating habits may promote healthy body weight among students and reduce the prevalence of obesity. Key words: Obesity-Personal, social and environmental factors. |