Determination of eating and behavior of Uludağ University students

This research was conducted to identify the dietary habits of and eating disorder frequency among the students of Uludağ University. The research sample group included 250 students from different faculties and colleges and the research was eventually conducted with 174 students since the remaining students were not available due to various reasons. 4-stage survey was conducted among the students, including questions regarding their sociodemographic features, dietary habits, anthropometric measurements, and an Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26). The data collected from the survey were digitalized in the computer environment, and analysed with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows 20.0 software. The results were determined in percentile, the average, standard deviation values were calculated, and chi-square test was used as the statistical analysis method. 73.6% of the students participating in the research were female while the remaining 26.4% were male. 22.4% of them were considered slightly overweight and 1.7% of them as obese. According to the research results, it was determined that the female students skip significantly more meals as compared to the male students (p<0.05). Both sexes skip lunch the most. The existence of eating disorder was identified for 15.5% of the students. The relation between the eating disorder and sex of the students was not significant (p>0.05). Eating behavior disorder was more frequent among the students staying in the dormitory than the students staying at home (p<0,05). Eating disorders and being overweight are common problems of university students. Therefore, it is important to identify eating disorder frequency and obesity ratio among the university students. A course on balanced and regular diet should be included in the curriculum for all students regardless of their branch of studies.