Weight Management, Calorie Intake and Body Image Perception among Young Adults

Objectives: To examine eating behaviors of university students, identify recent major food intake patterns, and explore body image perceptions. It also aims to find out any correlation between nutrient intake, body image perception and weight altering intentions. Design: Cross-sectional study Setting: Ankara Baskent University, Turkey Subjects: 503 randomly selected university students Intervention: A questionnaire examining nutritional habits Main Outcome Measures: Calorie intake, body image perception in relation to body mass indexes, eating and dieting behaviors and weight management plans. Analysis: Chi-square analysis and logistic regression Results: 68.8% of female students, and 69.2% of males with normal BMI, described their bodies as overweight. Consumption of low-calorie type of food, attending to a diet program, gender, and regular exercising are the positive affecting variables in daily calorie intake (kcal/kg/day). In contrast, BMI and fast food consuming are the negative ones. Conclusion: This is the first study of the perception of body image and calorie-intake of young adults in Turkey. It adds to limited amount of knowledge that is currently available about dietary habits of this age group. Findings suggest that a need for further education is necessary for young people regarding healthy nutrition and weight control behaviors.