COMPARISION OF EATING ATTITUDES OF STUDENTS OF DEPARTMENT OF NUTRITION AND DIETETICS

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OBJECTIVE: In this study, we compare the eating habits of students studying in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at a state university in Turkey, with those of students from other departments. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 54 third-year students who were studying in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics (Group 1) and 53 third-year students from other departments (Group 2) of the same university. An Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) was applied to all students included in the study on December 2017, and data was obtained on age, height and weight, from which Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated. The data was analysed using SPSS version 21.0 software, and Chi-Square, Mann-Whitney U, Wilcoxon W and Mann-Whitney Rank Sum tests were used to evaluate the obtained data. A p- value of 0.005 was considered significant. RESULTS: No significant difference was identified in the mean EAT score values of the two groups (p=0.498). A low mean score suggests the existence of no negative eating habits in either group, although in an evaluation of the cut-off value, eating disorders were identified in both groups. When the groups were compared in terms of weight and BMI, Group 1 was found to be closer to their ideal weight, with a significant difference was observed between the two groups (p=0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Although our study sample was small, the findings suggest that negative eating habits increase both among students of the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics and also those of other departments.

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University student , Student nutrition , Eating attitudes test

Kocatepe Medical Journal

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Kocatepe Medical Journal