Health behaviors of students attending historically black colleges and universities: results from the National College Health Risk Behavior Survey.

The National College Health Risk Behavior Survey was administered to a convenience sample of students at 8 historically Black colleges and universities in 7 states. Analyses showed major differences in the men's and women's responses. The men were significantly more likely than the women to be current smokers. Also, they more frequently reported heavy drinking, drinking and driving in the past days 30 days, and carrying a weapon. The women were significantly more likely to view themselves as overweight, and more than one third reported they were trying to lose weight. More than one third of the students had not exercised or participated in sports activities for more than 20 minutes in the past 7 days. Because historically Black colleges and universities educate the majority of undergraduate Black college students, multidimensional programs to promote disease prevention and health promotion for Black college students must be expanded and evaluated.