Evaluation of the relationship between nutrition status and anthropometric measurements in university students by muscularity oriented eating test (MOET)

This study was planned in order to make the validity and reliability of the Muscularity Oriented Eating Test (MOET) and to evaluate the relationship between the nutritional status and anthropometric measurements of the students with muscularity-oriented malnutrition. The study was carried out in two stages. In the first stage, the validity and reliability of MOET-TR was determined. The second phase was carried out on a total of 290 male university students studying at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University between January and March 2020. Sociodemographic characteristics, nutritional habits, use of ergogenic nutritional supplements, body satisfaction and 24-hour food consumption records of the individuals were learned through a questionnaire form. Drive for Muscularity Scale (KODÖ) in order to determine the desire of to be muscular (KODÖ), SCOFF Eating Disorders Scale and Eating Attitude Test (YTT-40) to detect eating disorders, Muscularity Oriented Eating Test (MOET) to detect muscularity-oriented eating disorders, International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-Short Form) to determine physical activity states, and STUNKARD scale was applied to evaluate body dissatisfaction. Anthropometric measurements of the individuals were taken by the researcher, waist/hip ratio, waist/height ratio, Body Mass Index (BMI) and Lean Body Mass Index (FFMI) values were calculated. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that MOET-TR is a valid and reliable measurement tool in determining the symptoms of malnutrition focused on muscularity (cronbach alpha: 0.88) and the total score averages of the individuals for MOET-TR were found to be 14.63 ± 10.90. The average age of the individuals included in the study is 21.5 ± 1.9 years. The BMI average of the individuals is 23.7 ± 4.1 kg / m2, their FFMI value is 19.6 ± 2.2 kg / m2 and their body fat ratio is 16.1 ± 6.8%. The mean MOET-TR scores were found to be higher in individuals who is dieting (25.3±13.4 vs. 12.3±8.7), use ergogenic nutritional supplements (20±12.7 vs. 14±10.1), and have a high-abnormal muscle ratio (18.9±13.7 vs. 13.3±9.7, 15.4±11.8) (p <0.05). It was also observed that these individuals were not satisfied with their muscle ratio and the risk of eating disorders was common (p <0.05).As a result, it has been determined that the desire to be more muscular in men may lead to the development of muscularity-oriented malnutrition due to its negative effect on eating habits and body satisfaction. This study was conducted on men only, and similar studies are recommended on women.