Wan Zainulabidin, Wan Nuratika (2020) Factors associated with mindful eating among undergraduate students in Universiti Putra Malaysia. [Project Paper] (Submitted)
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Abstract
Mindful eating is about being conscious of our eating habits and involves paying full attention to the experience of eating and drinking. It emphasizes on how to eat than what to eat or what not to eat. Examples of mindful eating include sitting at a dining table when eating, chewing more slowly, eating away from distractions such as the TV, computer or smartphone, and no multitasking during mealtimes. University students are prone to mindless eating such as eating quickly and eating while doing assignments. If students who soon are entering adulthood persist these poor eating habits, they might suffer negative health effects such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. There are little published data exploring mindful eating in the university setting. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aims to determine the factors associated with mindful eating among undergraduate students in Universiti Putra Malaysia. This study included 276 respondents (25.7% males and 74.3% females) with a mean age of 20.61 ± 1.28 years old from three randomly selected faculties. Respondents completed an online survey comprising questionnaires about socio-demographic characteristics, mindful eating, physical activity, eating behaviours, depression, anxiety, stress, body appreciation and self-compassion. Body weight, height, waist circumference and body fat percentage were measured by researcher. Results showed that mean score of mindful eating was 2.68 ± 0.23, ranging from 1.90 to 3.21. One in ten of the respondents (12.0%) were underweight, 19.1% were overweight and 11.6% were obese. One in five of the respondents (19.6%) had abdominal obesity and 39.7% had unhealthy body fat percentage. Uncontrolled eating (r=-0.318, p<0.001), emotional eating (r=-0.295, p<0.001), depression (r=-0.153, p=0.011), stress (r=-0.126, p=0.036), body appreciation (r=0.147, p=0.015) and self-compassion (r=0.195, p=0.001) were significantly correlated with mindful eating among undergraduate students. However, no significant difference in mindful eating score with socio-demographic status and no significant relationships were found between body mass index, waist circumference, body fat percentage, physical activity, cognitive restraint and anxiety with mindful eating in this study. In conclusion, health promotion programs should highlight the importance of preventing uncontrolled eating, emotional eating, depression, stress and enhancing body appreciation and self-compassion among undergraduate students in order to promote mindful eating as one of the healthy eating practices.
| Item Type: | Project Paper |
|---|---|
| Faculty: | Faculty of Medicine and Health Science |
| Depositing User: | Ms Norafizah Radzuan |
| Date Deposited: | 04 Sep 2023 03:29 |
| Last Modified: | 04 Sep 2023 03:29 |
| URI: | http://psaspb.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/1228 |
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