Mindful eating practice predicts lower body mass index among university students

Ahmad, Salwani and Sidek, Suriati and Hamirudin, Aliza Haslinda and Mohd Abu Bakar, Wan Azdie and Unal, Tubanur Irfan (2019) Mindful eating practice predicts lower body mass index among university students. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition, 18 (10). pp. 977-982. ISSN 1680-5194 E-ISSN 1994-7984

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Abstract

Background and Objective: The hectic life of university students may contribute to mindless eating and eventually may lead to obesity. Previous studies suggested that adopting mindful eating practice has a positive influence on eating habit modification and obesity rate reduction. Hence, this study aimed to assess the role of mindful eating practice and health attitudes in predicting the body mass index (BMI) of university students. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 university students at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). Participants’ weight and height were measured and they were required to complete the Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ) and Health Attitude Scale (HAS). Results: The mean body mass index (BMI) of participants was 22.53±4.00 kg mG2 . The highest mean reported for the mindful eating practice subscale is the awareness subscale (mean = 2.7852±0.475). The results showed that a higher MEQ score predicted a lower BMI (p<0.05) and this explained 2% of the variance in BMI. However, BMI was not predicted by health attitudes. Conclusion: The results suggested that the concept of mindfulness has a positive impact on body weight, which could be incorporated into weight loss and weight maintenance intervention programmes.

Item Type:	Article (Journal)
Additional Information:	7546/74945
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Body mass index; health attitude; mindful eating; obesity; university students
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine T Technology > TX Home economics > TX341 Nutrition. Foods and food supply
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Allied Health Sciences Kulliyyah of Allied Health Sciences > Department of Nutrition Sciences Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences > Department of Psychology
Depositing User:	Dr. Wan Azdie Mohd Abu Bakar
Date Deposited:	24 Oct 2019 11:55
Last Modified:	24 Oct 2019 11:55
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/74945

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