The relationship between mindful eating, body mass index and physical activity in nursing students – a cross-sectional study

Aysel Topan
ID
Tülay Kuzlu Ayyıldız
ID
Müge Seval
ID
Aylin Kurt
ID
Email src
Fadime Üstüner Top
ID
Email src
Nursing Department, Faculty of Health Science, Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University, Zonguldak, Turkey
Nursing Department, Faculty of Health Science, Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University, Zonguldak, Turkey
Department of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Zonguldak Bulent Ecevit University, Zonguldak, Turkey
Nursing Department, Faculty of Health Science, Bartın University, Bartın, Turkey
Department of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Giresun University, Giresun, Turkey
Received: 16 May 2021 / Accepted: 22 June 2021 / Published: 30 September 2021

Abstract

Introduction. One of the reasons of obesity in university students might be mindful eating.

Aim. This study was performed to evaluate the relationship between mindful eating, body mass index (BMI) and physical activity in nursing students.

Material and methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 718 nursing students in a university in Turkey. “Personal Information Form” and “Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ)” were used as data collection tools.

Results. Statistically significant differences were found between some mean subscale and total scores of MEQ based on sex of the students, their state of exercising regularly, number of their meals, their state of having snacks, the type of bread they often consumed and the frequency of eating fast foods (p<0.05). A significant relationship was found between age and BMI of the students and their mean subscale and total scores of MEQ (p<0.05).

Conclusion. The older the nursing students grew, the higher their level of mindful eating became. Sociodemographic characteristics such as sex and presence of a person with obesity within the family affected subscales of their mindful eating. Mindful eating decreased as body mass index increased; and besides, mindful eating increased as physical activity increased.

 

Cite

Topan A, Ayyıldız TK, Seval M, Kurt A, Top FÜ. The relationship between mindful eating, body mass index and physical activity in nursing students – a cross-sectional study. Eur J Clin Exp Med. 2021;19(3):233–240. doi: 10.15584/ejcem.2021.3.4

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited