The relationship between mindful eating, body mass index and physical activity in nursing students – a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction. One of the reasons of obesity in university students might be mindful eating. Aim. This study was performed to evaluate the relationship between mindful eating, body mass index (BMI) and physical activity in nursing students. Material and methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 718 nursing students in a university in Turkey. “Personal Information Form” and “Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ)” were used as data collection tools. Results. Statistically significant differences were found between some mean subscale and total scores of MEQ based on sex of the students, their state of exercising regularly, number of their meals, their state of having snacks, the type of bread they often consumed and the frequency of eating fast foods (p<0.05). A significant relationship was found between age and BMI of the students and their mean subscale and total scores of MEQ (p<0.05). Conclusion. The older the nursing students grew, the higher their level of mindful eating became. Sociodemographic characteristics such as sex and presence of a person with obesity within the family affected subscales of their mindful eating. Mindful eating decreased as body mass index increased; and besides, mindful eating increased as physical activity increased.