Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, Selangor 43400, Malaysia.
Research Centre of Excellence for Nutrition and Non-Communicable Chronic Diseases, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, Selangor 43400, Malaysia.
Nutrients. 2020 Jan 25;12(2):318. doi: 10.3390/nu12020318.
Disordered eating is prevalent among university students, especially females. Whilst literature suggests that factors associated with disordered eating may differ according to gender, such an association has not been studied in Malaysia. This cross-sectional study aims to compare factors associated with disordered eating between male and female university students. A total of 716 university students (male: 27.4%; female: 72.6%) were recruited in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, Malaysia. All participants completed a set of self-administered questionnaires and their body weight and height were recorded. About one in five of the university students (20.3%) were found to have disordered eating. There were more female students (22.9%) disordered eating compared to males (13.3%, χ² = 8.16, < 0.05). In male students (β = 0.228, < 0.01), depressive symptoms were the only significant predictor for disordered eating. In females, the strongest predictor was depressive symptoms (β = 0.214, < 0.001), followed by body size satisfaction (β = -0.145, < 0.01) and body appreciation (β = -0.101, < 0.05). These findings suggest that there are gender differences in the factors associated with disordered eating among Malaysian university students. Intervention programmes that address disordered eating should take into account these sex differences and its contributing factors.
进食障碍在大学生中很普遍，尤其是女性。尽管有文献表明，与进食障碍相关的因素可能因性别而异，但在马来西亚尚未对此进行过研究。本横断面研究旨在比较马来西亚男女大学生中与进食障碍相关的因素。在马来西亚吉隆坡和雪兰莪共招募了 716 名大学生（男性：27.4%；女性：72.6%）。所有参与者都完成了一套自我管理的问卷，并记录了他们的体重和身高。约五分之一的大学生（20.3%）存在进食障碍。与男性（13.3%）相比，有更多的女性（22.9%）存在进食障碍（χ²=8.16， < 0.05）。在男性学生中（β=0.228， < 0.01），抑郁症状是唯一与进食障碍显著相关的因素。在女性中，最强的预测因素是抑郁症状（β=0.214， < 0.001），其次是体型满意度（β=-0.145， < 0.01）和身体欣赏（β=-0.101， < 0.05）。这些发现表明，马来西亚大学生中与进食障碍相关的因素存在性别差异。针对进食障碍的干预计划应考虑到这些性别差异及其促成因素。
