Does obesity related eating behaviors only affect chronic diseases? A nationwide study of university students in China

Sihui Peng; Dan Wu; Tingzhong Yang; Joan L Bottorff

doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102135

Does obesity related eating behaviors only affect chronic diseases? A nationwide study of university students in China

Prev Med Rep. 2023 Feb 11:32:102135. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102135. eCollection 2023 Apr.

Authors

Sihui Peng¹, Dan Wu², Tingzhong Yang^{3

4}, Joan L Bottorff⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
² School of Psychology/Center for Mental Health, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
³ Women's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
⁴ Injure Control Research Center, West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA.
⁵ School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, Canada.

Abstract

The primary aims of this study are to examine associations between obesity-related eating behaviors (OEB) and chronic and infectious diseases, and mental disorders. A representative nationwide survey was used to collect information among 11,659 medical students from 31 universities in China. Multiple variable logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the associations between OEB and the diseases. The multiple variable logistic regression model found that OEB was significantly associated with chronic disease (OR (Odds Ratio): 1.74 < 95 % C.I (Confidence Interval): 1.45, 2.65 > ), infectious disease (OR: 3.37 < 95 % C.I: 1.04, 1.81 > ), and mental disorder (OR: 1.87(<95 % C.I: 1.55, 2.25 > ). These findings underscore the importance of addressing OEB in programs and policies to promote health and prevent disease among university students.

Keywords: Chronic disease; Infection disease; Mental disorders; Obesity related eating behaviors; Young adults.