The determination of the relationship between diet quality and nomophobia, chronotype and sleep quality in university students

The study was conducted to determine the relationship between diet quality, nomophobia, chronotype, sleep quality and physical activity levels in university students. The study was conducted between January and March 2025 with the voluntary participation of 340 (314 female and 26 male) students aged between 18-24 years.Participants' general information, dietary habits, body weight and height were collected through self-report. Waist circumference was measured by the researcher using a measuring tape. İndividuals nomophobia levels were measured by the Uskudar Nomophobia Scale, diet quality was measured by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2015), sleep quality was measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and chronotype were measured by the Morningness Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ). The 24-Hour Dietary Recall was used for food consumption records and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF) was used for physical activity levels. The average age of students in the study was determined to 20.74 ± 1.53 years. High levels of nomophobia were determined in 1.8% of individuals, moderate levels in 20.9%, and mild levels in 54.1%. The percentage of individuals without nomophobia was 23.2%. It was determined that women have more nomophobia than men (p<0.001). Each one-hour increase in screen time was associated with an approximate 4.52 point increase in nomophobia scores (β = 4.522, p < 0.001). While 75.9% of the participants had poor diet quality, 23.8% had a diet quality that needed improvement, and only one participant had good diet quality. Poor diet quality was observed in individuals with long screen time, while better diet quality was observed in individuals using dietary supplements (p<0.05). Individuals with poor diet quality had high saturated fat consumption, while their consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids, fiber, vitamins E, K, and C, thiamine, niacin, folic acid, magnesium, potassium, and iron was low (p<0.05). It was determined that 68.8% of the students were intermediate types, 9.7% were moderately morning types, 18.5% were evening types, and 2.9% were definitely evening types. No individuals were classified as definitely morning types in the study. It was determined that 76.5% of individuals had poor sleep quality, while 23.5% had good sleep quality. As the level of nomophobia increased, there was a tendency toward a decrease in diet quality scores, but this was not found to be significant (p >0.05). The consumption of dark green leafy vegetables and legumes was significantly higher among evening-types compared to other chronotype groups (p = 0.036). According to regression analysis, poor sleep quality (β = 1.500, p < 0.001) and evening chronotype tendency (β = -0.515, p < 0.001) were significant predictors of nomophobia levels. On the other hand, HEI scores, dietary supplement use, BMI (kg/m²), IPAQ-SF scores, and phone usage time did not have a significant effect on nomophobia (p > 0.05). These findings indicate that nomophobia is associated not only with behavioral factors such as screen time, but also with biological factors such as sleep quality and chronotype. To combat digital age problems, education and health policies need to be restructured with a holistic approach. In this context, interdisciplinary, preventive policies should be developed in areas such as nutrition, sleep hygiene, social jetlag, and digital media use. In summary, it has become a pressing necessity to implement preventive programs that holistically address digital age issues along with circadian rhythm and lifestyle differences in university students.