Objective: Emotions are the basic elements of daily life that direct physiological changes and the formation of behavior by influencing cognition. Nutritional behavior is mainly shaped by emotional status. Unstable emotional states of medical students due to social and psychological factors affect their nutritional behaviors. Medical students may cope with physical and emotional difficulties such as emotional eating behavior leading to obesity. The aim of this study is to determine the emotional eating behavior and obesity status of medical students. Material and Methods: Data about sociodemographic characteristics and nutritional habits were collected via a questionnaire by face to face interview method by a dietitian. Anthropometric measurements (body weight, height, waist circumference, hip circumference, waist/hip ratio, waist/height ratio) of 256 medical students which was calculated via power analysis were taken by a trained dietitian. Three-factor Eating Questionnaire-R18 (TFEQ-R18) and Emotional Appetite Questionnaire (EMAQ) scales were applied to assess the eating behavior. The analysis of the data was made in the SPSS Statistics 21 package program, and the obtained results were interpreted as the value p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: This study consisted of 88 (34.4%) male and 168 (65.6%) female students. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among students were 18.0% and 3.9%, respectively. Negative EMAQ scores of overweight group [61.5 (29.0-126.0)] was higher than underweight group [47.0 (31.0- 97.0)] (p=0.007). There was no significant difference between underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese groups in terms of uncontrolled eating and emotional eating scores (p=0.311, p=0.185; respectively). Cognitive restraint scores of normal [37.5 (0.0-75.0)] and overweight groups [33.3 (8.3-62.5)] were higher than underweight group [20.8 (4.2-62.5)] (p=0.002). Conclusion: Medical students are at a high risk of obesity development. Health education programs and health promotion activities should be recommended to prevent obesity.
Keywords: Emotional eating; obesity; medical students
Amaç: Duygular, bilişi etkileyerek fizyolojik değişimlere ve davranış oluşumuna yön veren günlük yaşamın temel unsurlarıdır. Beslenme davranışı esas olarak duygusal durumla şekillenir. Tıp öğrencilerinin sosyal ve psikolojik faktörlere bağlı değişken duygu durumları beslenme davranışlarını etkileyebilmektedir. Tıp öğrencileri, obeziteye neden olan duygusal yeme davranışı gibi fiziksel ve duygusal zorluklarla karşılaşabilirler. Bu çalışmanın amacı, tıp öğrencilerinin duygusal yeme davranışı ve obezite durumlarını belirlemektir. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Sosyodemografik özellikler ve beslenme alışkanlıkları ile ilgili veriler, yüz yüze görüşme yöntemi ile diyetisyen tarafından anket aracılığıyla toplanmıştır. Power analiz sonucu belirlenen 256 tıp öğrencisinin antropometrik ölçümleri (vücut ağırlığı, boy uzunluğu, bel çevresi, kalça çevresi, bel/kalça oranı, bel/boy oranı) eğitimli bir diyetisyen tarafından alınmıştır. Üç Faktörlü Beslenme Anketi ve Duygusal İştah Anketi (DİA) ölçekleri yeme davranışını değerlendirmek için uygulanmıştır. Verilerin analizi, SPSS İstatistik 21 paket programında ya pılmış, p<0.05 değeri istatistiksel olarak anlamlı kabul edilmiştir.. Bulgular: Bu çalışma, 88 erkek (%34,4) ve 168 kız (%65,6) öğrenciden oluşmaktadır. Öğrenciler arasında fazla kiloluluk ve obezite görülme sıklığı sırasıyla %18,0 ve %3,9'dur. Fazla kilolu grubun olumsuz DİA puanı [61,5 (29,0-126,0)] zayıf olan gruba [47,0 (31,0-97,0)] göre daha yüksektir (p=0,007). Kontrolsüz yeme ve duygusal yeme puanları açısından zayıf, normal kilolu, fazla kilolu ve obez gruplar arasında anlamlı fark bulunmamıştır (sırasıyla p=0,311, p=0,185). Bilişsel yeme kısıtlaması puanı normal [37,5 (0,0- 75,0)] ve fazla kilolu [33,3 (8,3-62,5)] olan gruplarda zayıf gruba [20,8 (4,2-62,5)] göre daha yüksektir (p=0,002). Sonuç: Tıp öğrencileri, obezite gelişimi açısından yüksek risk altındadır. Obezitenin önlenmesi için sağlık eğitim programları ve sağlığı geliştirme faaliyetleri önerilmelidir.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Duygusal yeme; obezite; tıp öğrencileri
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