Academic stressors can hinder the wellbeing of students and impact their eating habits. In this study, we apply the socio-ecological model to academic stressors and explore the influence they have on eating behaviour among university students. This cross-sectional study was set in a private health sciences university in Malaysia among a sample of 183 pre-university students, which was obtained using systematic random sampling technique. The academic stressors of the participants were assessed using the Academic Stress Questionnaire while eating behaviour was determined using The Three Eating Factor Questionnaire Revised-18 Items. Significant association (p ≤ 0.05) was found between academic stressors and eating habits. The increase in academic stressors increased the unhealthy eating behaviours: Cognitive Restraint, Uncontrolled Eating, and Emotional Eating. The findings illustrate that academic stressors should be taken into consideration for future university health interventions to promote healthy eating behaviour.
Feeding Behavior ; Students