Eating behaviour among undergraduate students: Comparing nutrition students with other courses

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Poínhos, R., Alves, D., Vieira, E., Pinhão, S., Oliveira, B. M., & Correia, F. (2015). Eating
behaviour among undergraduate students: Comparing nutrition students with other courses. Appetite, 8428-33. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2014.09.011

Even though there have been limited studies in regards the relationship between dietetic students and eating behaviours; some studies have revealed that nutrition students have a higher prevalence of Eating Disorder risks. This study compares nutrition and non-nutrition students against eating dimensions such as: external eating, binge eating, and negative emotional eating.

Convenience samples of 154 nutrition/food science students and 263 students in other undergraduate courses were selected for this study. Both male and female Portuguese students between the ages of 18 and 27 signed a written consent to have their data analyzed separately over the course of six months. Self-reported anthropometric measurements with calculations, Eating Behavior questionnaires and Body Mass Index (BMI) were administered during class to all participants. Data collected included; self-reported anthropometric measurements with calculated BMI, the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) consisted of an emotional 13 item scale and an external 10 item scale, Binge Eating Scale (BES) included 16 items, and a General Eating Self-Efficacy Scale (GESES) with five. Each eating behavior dimension was compared against both the nutrition students and the non-nutrition students.

Results revealed that female nutrition students had the lowest BMI between the two samples, and both male and female reported increased control of both rigid and flexible eating behaviors. Females displayed the highest restraint when it came to food intake and binging behaviors. This study showed that a relevant relationship between the eating behavior dimensions exists among nutrition students. Dietary restraint in both sexes of nutrition students confirms data from a previous study, reporting over 40% of female dietitians display dietary restraint. Ridged control seems to be described by dichotomous attitudes concerning food, leading to exacerbated weight gain and dietary issues. “Some authors suggest that the selection of a nutrition course is influenced by one’s own personal experiences regarding food and weight control or by prior tendency to disordered eating behaviors.” Although some limitations such as self-reported anthropometric measures and use of convenience samples, the results or conclusions of this study were not compromised.

MA




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