Examination of eating habits in university students in terms of physcal activity and various variables (example of Erzincan province)

Objective: The basics of having a healthy life are laid in the youth periods. The two important determinants of being healthy are adequate and balanced nutrition with regular physical activities. Therefore, itisimportantto monitor thephysicalactivityand nutritional disorders ofyoungpeople. The aim of this study is to determine the physical activity levels and eating disorder status of the university students and to compare the eating disorder status according to the physical activity levels and various variables (gender, income status, eating habits, social pressure, etc.). Material and Method: This study was conducted with a total of 2088 students (x̄ age= 20.85 + 1.79 year), 845 (40.5%) of whom were male (x̄ age= 21.23 + 1.91 year) and 1243 (59.5%) of whom were female (x̄ age= 20.59 + 1.65 year), who studies in the central campus of Erzincan Binali Yıldırım University. The personal information of the students were obtained through a personal information form that questions their socio-demographic characteristics, the presence of obesity and mental illness in the family, and their nutritional habits. Physical activity level was determined by the 'International Physical Activity Questionare (IPAQ)' (short form) consisting of seven questions and the Eating Disorder Examination Questionare (EDE-Q) consisting of 28 questions and 4 sub-scales (restriction, concerns about eating, concerns about body shape, concerns about weight). IBM SPSS 22.0 package program was used for the analysis of the data and p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Categorical variables were summarized as n (%) and continuous variables were summarized as mean ± standard deviation. For pairwise group comparisons 'Mann-Whitney U' test, in three or more group comparisons the 'Kruskal Wallis H' test was used. Findings: While the average physical activity scores of males and females were similar (p=0.299), the scores of men in terms of total physical activity were significantly higher than those of women (p<0.001). As a result of the comparisons that made in terms of eating disorder conditions, all score averages were higher in females than in males (p<0.01). When eating disorders were evaluated according to gender and physical activity variables, the EDE-Q(total) scores of male students with adequate levels of physical activity were significantly higher than those of students with only low activity (p=0.035), EDE-Q(restriction) (p<0.01) and EDE-Q(eating concerns) (p<0.05), both inactive and low activity groups. It was determined that females with adequate physical activity had higher EDE-Q(restriction) scores than the group with low activity and inactive group (p<0.05). EDE-Q(body shape concerns – weight concerns) scores of individuals with family history of mental illness were higher at (p<0.01) and (p<0.05), respectively, than those without family history of mental illness. It was determined that all scores of EDE-Q (p<0.01) were higher for the people that have at least one obese person in the family. As a result of the evaluation in terms of the accommodation of the students, EDE-Q(total – restriction – body shape concerns) scores of those staying in the private dormitory were higher in the level of significance than those residing in the student house (p<0.01). Students who have a monthly income of over 700TL, EDE-Q(restriction) (p<0.01) scores werefoundtobe higher thanthoseunder 500TL permonth. According totheamountof money that students spendon nutrition and the number of main meals, no difference hasbeen observed inall scores of EDE-Q. Excluding EDE-Q(weight concerns) scores of students who ate their meal fast, other EDE-Q(total – body shape concerns - eating concerns) scores were found to be higher than those who ate slowly and at normal speed (p<0.05). As the a mount of water consumed increases, all scores of EDE-Q have significantly increased (p<0.01). Eating disorder scores of people who regulate their body weight by reducing their dinner when they gain weight were higher than those who regulate them by doing physical activity and not taking snacks (p<0.001). All EDE-Q scores were found to be high for those who were absolutely dissatisfied with their appearance and body weight (p<0.001). All eating disorder scores of those who felt social pressure related to eating behaviors were found to be higher at (p<0.001) and the eating disorder scores of the students who were subjected to pressure by the media were higher at (p<0.01). In addition, it was determined that all eating disorder scores (p<0.001) were higher for those who were under pressure towards weight loss and ready-to-eat consumption. Conclusion: As a result of this study, the average eating disorder scores of students who had mental illness and obesity in their family history, who lived in a private dormitory and had a high monthly income, ate fast food and consumed excess water, and who were absolutely dissatisfied with their body weight and appearance were found to be high. The average eating disorder scores of students who regulate their body weight by reducing their dinner when they gain weight and reducing physical activity when they lose weight were higher. However, students withadequateactivityinboth genders have higher averagevaluesof eating disorder. Keywords: Physical Activity, University Students, Social Pressure, Eating Disorder.