Evaluation of the effects of seasonal change on mood, eating attitude and nutritional status of university students

This study was designed to determine the effect of seasonal change on mood, eating attitude, nutrition and food preferences in university students. The study was conducted on 184 female and 100 male a total of 284 voluntary students (mean age 20.85 ± 1.61 years), who are studying at the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics and Sports Sciences of Başkent University Faculty of Health Sciences. Socio-demographic properties, eating habits, anthropometric measurements, 24-hour food consumption and physical activity records of the students were evaluated. Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) was used to investigate the effects of seasonal changes on mood and behavior of students; Eating Attitude Test (YTT-26) was used to determine possible disorders in eating behaviors and attitudes. It was determined that 81.0% of the students changed their food preferences depending on the season and 19.0% did not. While the average of seasonality score (MP) obtained as a result of the scale was found as 12.24 ± 4.66, it was determined higher in women (12.50±4.16) than men (11.76±5.46) and the difference was not statistically significant (p> 0.05). No statistically significant difference was found between the seasonality scores according to socio-demographic characteristics of students, nutrient consumption, regular exercise situations, number of meals, diet practices, appetite status (p> 0.05). It was found that there was a significant and positive correlation between the chronic disease states diagnosed with all students and physical activity level values of male students and seasonality scores (p <0.05). The average YTT-26 score was 12.00 ± 9.97. When the food consumption records were evaluated, statistically significant and positive correlations were found between the protein and zinc intake of male students and YTT-26 scores (p <0.05). A statistically significant and positive correlation was found between the amount of calcium intake of the students according to the reference value and YTT-26 scores (p <0.05). When anthropometric measurements and YTT-26 scores were compared, a statistically significant and positive correlation was found between upper middle arm circumference and YTT-26 scores of male students (p <0.05). It was determined that the seasonal scores of the students whose YTT-26 score was above 20 were significantly higher (p <0.05). The changes that will occur in the seasonal habits of university students in young adulthood, whose mood changes and eating attitude disorders are seen at a high rate, should be determined and larger studies should be conducted on this subject. Keywords: Seasonal change, mood, eating attitude, nutrition, university students