Nural Erzurum Alim* and Rahime Evra Karakaya

Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Turkey

*Corresponding Author: Nural Erzurum Alim, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Turkey.

Received: May 13, 2021; Published: June 25, 2021

Abstract

Body perception and nutritional behavior of university students differ due to environmental factors which lead to increased risk of obesity. The aim of this study is to evaluate body perception, eating attitudes and nutritional status of university students'. A questionnaire form including general information and nutritional habits were applied to university students. Body weight and height were measured by a trained researcher. Body perception was evaluated by Body Cathexis Scale and nutritional behavior was assessed by Eating Attitude Test-40. The study was conducted with 343 university students (15.7% male and 84.3% female). The prevalence of overweight was 13.1% and obesity was 2.3%. Higher risk of abnormal eating attitudes were detected in overweight group (21.2%) than underweight (12.1%) and obese group (3.0%) (p > 0.05). Mean body cathexis scale total score was higher in normal weight group (143.40 ± 22.99) than overweight, underweight and obese group (141.93 ± 23.34, 139.86 ± 21.29, 131.50 ± 21.08 respectively) (p > 0.05). Eating attitude test and meal frequency weren’t significant predictors of body mass index (B = 0.028, p = 0.059; B = 0.478, p = 0.083, respectively). Abnormal nutritional status such as underweight, overweight and obesity could be a potential risk among university students. Risk of abnormal eating attitudes was observed whereas body satisfaction was similar in these groups.

Keywords:Body Image; Eating; Obesity; Students

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Citation

Citation: Nural Erzurum Alim and Rahime Evra Karakaya. “Assessment of Nutritional Status, Eating Attitude and Body Satisfaction of University Students".Acta Scientific Nutritional Health 5.7 (2021): 80-87.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2021 Nural Erzurum Alim and Rahime Evra Karakaya. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.