Background: The health system in developing countries, such as Ethiopia, is overwhelmedrnby infectious diseases and malnutrition. However, the growing burden of diet and lifestylernrelated chronic diseases have recently been recognized with its contribution to the doublernburden on diseases in these countries.rnObjective: The study was designed to assess the prevalence of common risk factors forrnchronic diseases among regular higher education students in Addis Ababa in 2007.rnMethods: This study is an institution-based cross sectional survey that employed clusterrnsampling method. The WHO STEPS questionnaire was administered to collect data on sociodemographicrncharacteristics, behavioral risk factors, and selected physical measurements,rnsuch as blood pressure, weight, height, waist and hip circumference.rnResults: Prevalence of current cigarettes smoking was 9.5% in male and 3.4% in females.rnAbout 44% of participants reported alcohol consumption in 12 months prior to the survey,rnwhile 6.8% reported binge type of alcohol drinking. The prevalence of current khat chewingrnwas 13.8% and 13.3% were daily khat users. Almost 99% of participants reported inadequaternfruit and vegetable consumption, and 21% of participants added salt on their plate while theyrnare eating their meal. About 31.6% of males and 47.8% of females were physically inactivernor reported inadequate level of physical activity related to work, transport or leisure time. Thernoverall prevalence of overweight or obesity was 5.5%, with 4.2% in males and 7.6% inrnfemales. Hypertension was detected in 10.4% of males and 6.7% of females. Adjusting tornother variables, age, friend's history of smoking, current khat chewing and binge drinkingrnwere positively associated with current cigarette smoking status. Male sex, urban residence,rnfriends' and father's khat consumption history were positively associated with current khatrnconsumption. Sex, years of stay in college, living arrangement, and BMI were predictors ofrnboth systolic and diastolic blood pressure of the participants.rnConclusion and recommendations: Inadequate consumption of fruits and vegetables, alongrnwith physical inactivity, are widely prevalent risk factors of chronic diseases among collegernvirnstudents in Addis Ababa. Moreover, khat chewing, cigarette smoking, and alcoholrnconsumption are common practice among the study population. The college, as a continuationrnof the high school, is a favorable (breading) environment for adoption and proliferation ofrnsubstance use behavior. At the same time, it offers an opportunity for promotion of healthyrnlife style and prevention of the risky behavior. The school administrative and members of thernacademic community should be aware of the prevailing situation and its potentialrnconsequences in order to curb the problem