Stress and dietary behaviour among first-year university students in Australia: sex differences
-
Altmetric Citations
Papier, Keren; Ahmed, Faruk; Lee, Patricia; Wiseman, Juliet
Description
OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between stress and food selection patterns by sex among first-year undergraduate students studying in an Australian university. METHODS Participating in this cross-sectional study were 728 (331 men and 397 female students) first-year students, ages >18 y, attending the Gold Coast Campus of Griffith University. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire consisting of three sections: sociodemographic information,...[Show more]
dc.contributor.author | Papier, Keren | |
---|---|---|
dc.contributor.author | Ahmed, Faruk | |
dc.contributor.author | Lee, Patricia | |
dc.contributor.author | Wiseman, Juliet | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2015-08-31T02:08:52Z | |
dc.date.available | 2015-08-31T02:08:52Z | |
dc.identifier.issn | 0899-9007 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1885/15021 | |
dc.description.abstract | OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between stress and food selection patterns by sex among first-year undergraduate students studying in an Australian university. METHODS Participating in this cross-sectional study were 728 (331 men and 397 female students) first-year students, ages >18 y, attending the Gold Coast Campus of Griffith University. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire consisting of three sections: sociodemographic information, stress measures, and a 7-d food frequency questionnaire. RESULTS More than half (52.9%) of the participants were found to suffer from some level of stress, with relatively more female students (57.4%) suffering than men (47.4%). Men who experienced mild to moderate levels of stress were two to three times more likely to eat cereal foods (P < 0.01), fish/seafood (P < 0.001), and protein powder (P < 0.05). They also tended to eat more meat alternatives (P < 0.05), highly processed foods (P < 0.05), and to drink more alcohol (P < 0.05) than unstressed male students. However, they were less likely to consume vegetables and fruit (P < 0.05) compared with their unstressed counterparts. The trend analysis results indicated significant dose-response patterns in the relationship between stress level and consumption of cereal food, meat alternatives, vegetables and fruit (negative trend), highly processed food, protein powder, beverages and alcoholic beverages (all P < 0.05). Female students who experienced mild to moderate stress were 2.22 times more likely to eat processed food (P < 0.01) than unstressed female students. Female students who experienced severe stress were less likely to consume meat alternatives (P < 0.05) than their unstressed counterparts. Significant dose-response trends were found in the relationship between stress levels and the consumption of meat alternatives, vegetables and fruit (both negative trends), and processed food (all P < 0.01). CONCLUSION These results demonstrate a clear difference in food selection patterns between stressed male and female students, with stress being a more significant predictor of unhealthy food selection among male students. Further research is needed using a qualitative approach to understand how stress and eating behavior are related in university students. | |
dc.format | 7 pages | |
dc.publisher | Elsevier | |
dc.rights | © 2015 Elsevier Inc. | |
dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ | |
dc.source | Nutrition | |
dc.subject | Australia | |
dc.subject | dietary pattern | |
dc.subject | stress | |
dc.subject | students | |
dc.title | Stress and dietary behaviour among first-year university students in Australia: sex differences | |
dc.type | Journal article | |
local.identifier.citationvolume | 31 | |
dcterms.dateAccepted | 2014-08-15 | |
dc.date.issued | 2015-02 | |
local.identifier.ariespublication | u5427758xPUB125 | |
local.publisher.url | http://www.elsevier.com/ | |
local.type.status | Accepted Version | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Papier, Keren, National Centre for Epidemiology & Population Health, CMBE Research School of Population Health, The Australian National University | |
local.identifier.essn | 1873-1244 | |
local.bibliographicCitation.issue | 2 | |
local.bibliographicCitation.startpage | 324 | |
local.bibliographicCitation.lastpage | 330 | |
local.identifier.doi | 10.1016/j.nut.2014.08.004 | |
dcterms.accessRights | Open Access | |
dc.provenance | http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/issn/0899-9007/ Author can archive post-print (ie final draft post-refereeing). Author's post-print on open access repository after an embargo period of 12 months (Sherpa/Romeo as of 10/11/2015). | |
dc.rights.license | Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International | |
Collections | ANU Research Publications |
Download
File | Description | Size | Format | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|
Papier et al Stress and dietary behaviour 2015.pdf | 687.54 kB | Adobe PDF |
This item is licensed under a Creative Commons License
Updated: 17 November 2022/ Responsible Officer: University Librarian/ Page Contact: Library Systems & Web Coordinator