Social and psychological factors affecting eating habits among university students in a Malaysian medical school: a cross-sectional study

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Abstract

Background

Eating habits have been a major concern among university students as a determinant of health status. The aim of this study was to assess the pattern of eating habits and its associated social and psychological factors among medical students.

Methods

A cross sectional study was conducted among 132 medical students of pre-clinical phase at a Malaysian university. A self-administered questionnaire was used which included questions on socio-demography, anthropometry, eating habits and psychosocial factors.

Results

Mean (±SD) age of the respondents was 22.7 (±2.4) years and (the age) ranged from 18 to 30 years. More than half had regular meals and breakfast (57.6% &, 56.1% respectively). Majority (73.5%) consumed fruits less than three times per week, 51.5% had fried food twice or more a week and 59.8% drank water less than 2 liters daily. Eating habits score was significantly low among younger students (18–22 years), smokers, alcohol drinkers and those who did not exercise. ( p<0.05). Four psychological factors out of six, were significantly associated with eating habits ( p<0.05). In multivariate analysis, age and ‘eating because of feeling happy’ were significantly associated with eating habits score ( p<0.05).

Conclusion

Most of the students in this study had healthy eating habits. Social and psychological factors were important determinants of eating habits among medical students.

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Most cited references 8

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Food consumption frequency and perceived stress and depressive symptoms among students in three European countries

Rafael T Mikolajczyk, Walid El Ansari, Annette Maxwell (2009)

Background Certain foods might be more frequently eaten under stress or when higher levels of depressive symptoms are experienced. We examined whether poor nutritional habits are associated with stress and depressive symptoms and whether the relationships differ by country and gender in a sample from three European countries collected as part of a Cross National Student Health Survey. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among first-year students in Germany (N = 696), Poland (N = 489) and Bulgaria (N = 654). Self-administered questionnaires included a 12-item food frequency questionnaire, Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale, and a modified Beck Depression Index. Linear regression analyses were conducted for two outcomes, perceived stress and depressive symptoms. Results Food consumption frequencies differed by country and gender, as did depressive symptoms and perceived stress. For male students, none of the food consumption groups were associated with perceived stress or depressive symptoms. In females, perceived stress was associated with more frequent consumption of sweets/fast foods and less frequent consumption of fruits/vegetables. Additionally, depressive symptoms were associated with less frequent consumption of fruits/vegetables and meat. Conclusion Our data show consistent associations between unhealthy food consumption and depressive symptoms and perceived stress among female students from three European countries, but not among male students. This suggests that efforts to reduce depressive symptoms and stress among female students may also lead to the consumption of healthier foods and/or vice-versa.

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Relationships between dietary habits and the prevalence of fatigue in medical students.

Yoshihito Shigihara, Kei Mizuno, Sanae Fukuda … (2008)

Fatigue, which is a common complaint among medical students, is related to poor academic outcomes. Because impaired dietary habits, such as skipping breakfast and taking meals irregularly, are correlated with poor school performances, whether those dietary habits were associated with the prevalence of fatigue was determined in medical students. The study group consisted of 127 healthy second-year medical students attending Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine. They completed a questionnaire dealing with fatigue (Japanese version of the Chalder Fatigue Scale), lifestyle, and academic performance. On multivariate logistic regression analyses adjusted for age, gender, body mass index, and nocturnal sleeping hours, skipping breakfast (completely skipping breakfast everyday versus having breakfast everyday; odds ratio 7.81, 95% confidence interval 2.00-30.52, P = 0.003) and taking meals irregularly (completely irregular versus always regular; odds ratio 6.89, 95% confidence interval 1.20-39.55, P = 0.030) were positively correlated with the prevalence of fatigue. Skipping breakfast and taking meals irregularly are associated with the prevalence of fatigue in medical students.

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An update on British medical students' lifestyles.

Ciarán Kelly, F Kamah, John C. Ashton … (1998)

Information about medical students' lifestyles was obtained from 785 second-year students from seven medical schools in Great Britain by a personally administered questionnaire. Fifteen per cent of the students were non-drinkers. Among those who drank, 48% of the men and 38% of the women exceeded sensible weekly limits of alcohol consumption, and high-risk levels of consumption were reported by 12% of men and 7% of women. Cannabis had been used at least once or twice by more than half the men and 40% of the women, and 10% reported regular use (weekly or more often). Experience with other illicit drugs was also reported: amphetamines (8% of students), LSD (7%), ecstasy (4%), amyl/butyl nitrate (10%) and magic mushrooms (7%). Nineteen per cent of the students had used two or more different drugs. Experience with illicit drugs started before entering university in more than a third of those who used them. Comparison of the results with other student surveys suggests that the lifestyles of medical students differ little from those of other student groups, but that alcohol and illicit drug consumption is increasing in university students generally. Prospective studies are under way to establish whether medical students change their lifestyles at later stages of their course and after qualification.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Nutr J

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Nutr J

Title: Nutrition Journal

Publisher: BioMed Central

ISSN (Electronic): 1475-2891

Publication date Collection: 2012

Publication date (Electronic): 18 July 2012

Volume: 11

Page: 48

Affiliations

[1 ]Department of Community Medicine, International Medical School, Management and Science University (MSU), Off Persiaran Olahraga, Section 13, 40100, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

[2 ]Community Medicine and Public Health, Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences, No. 3410, Jalan Teknokrat 3, Cyber 4, 63000, Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia

[3 ]Community Health Department, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Jalan Yaacob Latiff, 56000, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

[4 ]United Nations University- International Institute for Global Health, Jalan Yaacob Latiff, 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Article

Publisher ID: 1475-2891-11-48

DOI: 10.1186/1475-2891-11-48

PMC ID: 3418187

PubMed ID: 22809556

SO-VID: ad101386-05cc-48ac-8f02-9621c6e1cfce

License:

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Social and psychological factors affecting eating habits among university students in a Malaysian medical school: a cross-sectional study

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Abstract

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Karger: Nutrition and Dietetics

Most cited references 8

Food consumption frequency and perceived stress and depressive symptoms among students in three European countries

Relationships between dietary habits and the prevalence of fatigue in medical students.

An update on British medical students' lifestyles.

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