Abstract
Intuitive eating, which can be defined as reliance on physiological hunger and satiety cues to guide eating, has been proposed as a healthy weight management strategy. To date, there has not been a published study on intuitive eating in the context of Malaysia. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aims to determine associations between body weight status, psychological well-being and disordered eating behaviors with intuitive eating among undergraduate university students. A total of 333 undergraduate respondents (21.3% males and 78.7% females) from three randomly selected faculties in a public university in Malaysia participated in this study. Respondents completed a self-administered questionnaire which featured socio-demographic characteristics, intuitive eating, self-esteem, body appreciation, general unconditional acceptance, body acceptance by others, body function and disordered eating. Body weight, height, body fat percentage and waist circumference were measured. The results from this study revealed that there was no difference (t = 0.067, p = 0.947) in intuitive eating scores between males (75.69 ± 7.16) and females (75.62 ± 7.90). Multiple linear regression results have shown that body appreciation (β = 0.385, p < 0.001) and disordered eating (β = −0.168, p = 0.001) were significant predictors of intuitive eating, which accounted for 19.6% of the variance in intuitive eating. Health promotion programs should highlight the importance of enhancing body appreciation and preventing disordered eating behaviors among university students in order to promote intuitive eating as one of the healthy weight management approaches.
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©2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Original Articles
- Associations between body weight status, psychological well-being and disordered eating with intuitive eating among Malaysian undergraduate university students
- Using the Internet to access health-related information: results from a nationally representative sample of New Zealand secondary school students
- Differences and similarities in medicine use, perceptions and sharing among adolescents in two different educational settings
- Disparities in obesity prevalence and obesity-related behaviors among adolescents in Trinidad and Tobago
- Decreasing screen time and/or increasing exercise only helps in certain situations for young adults
- Assessment of anxiety in adolescents involved in a study abroad program: a prospective study
- Assessment of health literacy with the Newest Vital Sign and its correlation with body mass index in female adolescent students
- Causative factors for sexual and reproductive health status of pregnant adolescent girls in urban communities of Lagos, Nigeria
- A comparison of positive youth development against depression and suicidal ideation in youth from Hong Kong and the Netherlands
- Using theory of planned behavior for prediction of delivery mode among pregnant women: a theory-based cross-sectional research
- Relationships between metabolic profile, hypertension and uric acid with cardiometabolic risk in adolescents with abdominal obesity: impact of geodemographic factors on the prevalence of abdominal obesity
- Increased risk of sadness and suicidality among victims of bullying experiencing additional threats to physical safety
- Association between sleep quality and quality of life among students: a cross sectional study
- Menstrual irregularity and use of oral contraceptives in female adolescent athletes in Swedish National Sports High Schools
- Exploration of brushing behavior among university students in Iran: a qualitative research
- Vigorous physical activity, perceived stress, sleep and mental health among university students from 23 low- and middle-income countries
- Cross-sectional comparison of age-related changes in the quadriceps femoris in Japanese basketball players
- Knowledge, attitude and practice towards eating and physical activity among primary school children in Brunei: a cross-sectional study
Articles in the same Issue
- Original Articles
- Associations between body weight status, psychological well-being and disordered eating with intuitive eating among Malaysian undergraduate university students
- Using the Internet to access health-related information: results from a nationally representative sample of New Zealand secondary school students
- Differences and similarities in medicine use, perceptions and sharing among adolescents in two different educational settings
- Disparities in obesity prevalence and obesity-related behaviors among adolescents in Trinidad and Tobago
- Decreasing screen time and/or increasing exercise only helps in certain situations for young adults
- Assessment of anxiety in adolescents involved in a study abroad program: a prospective study
- Assessment of health literacy with the Newest Vital Sign and its correlation with body mass index in female adolescent students
- Causative factors for sexual and reproductive health status of pregnant adolescent girls in urban communities of Lagos, Nigeria
- A comparison of positive youth development against depression and suicidal ideation in youth from Hong Kong and the Netherlands
- Using theory of planned behavior for prediction of delivery mode among pregnant women: a theory-based cross-sectional research
- Relationships between metabolic profile, hypertension and uric acid with cardiometabolic risk in adolescents with abdominal obesity: impact of geodemographic factors on the prevalence of abdominal obesity
- Increased risk of sadness and suicidality among victims of bullying experiencing additional threats to physical safety
- Association between sleep quality and quality of life among students: a cross sectional study
- Menstrual irregularity and use of oral contraceptives in female adolescent athletes in Swedish National Sports High Schools
- Exploration of brushing behavior among university students in Iran: a qualitative research
- Vigorous physical activity, perceived stress, sleep and mental health among university students from 23 low- and middle-income countries
- Cross-sectional comparison of age-related changes in the quadriceps femoris in Japanese basketball players
- Knowledge, attitude and practice towards eating and physical activity among primary school children in Brunei: a cross-sectional study