effects of internet use on lifestyle of university students in gorgan, iran

background: internet use has grown largely in recent years in iran. students are one of the major users of the internet. this study evaluated the effects of student internet users’ lifestyle and behaviors. methods: this cross-sectional study used stratified multistage sampling to select 600 students from universities in gorgan (iran) during 2009. data was collected through a valid and reliable questionnaire and analyzed in spss. findings: most participants had healthy nutrition and 51.8% did not find the internet to affect their nutrition status. while 44.4% of the subjects had not exercised during the month prior to the study, 68.4% suggested the internet to be ineffective on their physical activity status. moreover, 18.9% reported tiredness and 32.8% reported satisfaction and calmness after using the internet. about 90% of the students did not respond to questions about the effects of the internet on their smoking, drug abuse, and unsafe sex status. conclusion: intarnet use did not seem to influence the lifestyle of our participants. however, since iranian students are increasingly using the internet, more studies in this field are required.