The Eating Attitude And The Factors Affecting The Eating Attitude In University Students

Aim: This study was conducted so as to determine the eating attitude and the factors assiciated with eating attitude in university students. Method: This study is a cross-sectional study. 431 university students participated in the study. The questionnaire was applied in randomly selected classes under observation. The questionnaire contains socio-demographic characteristics and the items of eating attitude test (EAT-40). In the evaluation of the data, descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal Wallis variance analysis test were used. Results: 84.9% of the students are female and the average age is 21.31 ± 1.73. The mean score obtained from EAT-40 is 27.98 ± 12.98. It was found that the EAT score was high in the students who are female, have nuclear families, drink alcohol and whose mothers work and whose fathers graduated from a university. No significant difference was found between the body mass index, doing regular sports, smoking, and eating attitude. Conclusion: Studies should be carried out; for the socio-demographic factors associated with the eating disorders and for removing these disorders before the graduation