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Background <p>Disordered eating behaviors (DEBs), food addiction (FA), and compulsive exercise (CE) represent increasing public health concerns among university students, particularly those enrolled in nutrition-related programs. Although research examining disordered eating attitudes in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, has expanded in recent years, studies specifically targeting nutrition major students and employing standardized assessment instruments remain limited. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the prevalence of DEBs, FA, and CE and to examine their associations with body mass index (BMI), educational level, age, and academic achievement, as indicated by grade point average (GPA), among female nutrition students at Taibah University in Al Madinah Al Munawwarah.</p> Method <p>An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted from January 29 to May 1, 2025, among 138 undergraduate nutrition majors (aged 18–25) at Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, using a self-administered online questionnaire to collect demographic data (age, BMI, GPA, educational level) and four validated instruments, the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire -Short (EDE-QS) and the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-Revised 18-item version (TFEQ-R18) for DEBs, the Modified Yale Food Addiction Scale Version 2.0 (mYFAS 2.0) for FA, and the Compulsive Exercise Test (CET) for CE. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and unadjusted Pearson correlation analyses were performed to examine associations between study variables.</p> Results <p>Based on the EDE-QS, 21.7% of 138 clinical nutrition students were classified as having a high risk of eating disorders. Eating behavior patterns assessed by the TFEQ-R18 indicated that body mass index (BMI) showed a low positive association with cognitive restraint and a positive association with emotional eating, both negligible, whereas uncontrolled eating was significantly negatively associated with age and educational level. Severe food addiction was identified in 11.6% of participants, and 21% demonstrated high levels of compulsive exercise, whereas age, educational level, and GPA showed limited to no significant associations with most outcomes.</p> Conclusion <p>This study highlights the importance of BMI as a key indicator in identifying at-risk students for DEBs, FA and CE. These findings highlight the need for future longitudinal research to examine causal relationships and to assess preventive and supportive strategies targeting maladaptive eating and exercise behaviors among nutrition students.</p>

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Prevalence and factors associated with disordered eating behaviors, food addiction, and compulsive exercise among females studying clinical nutrition in Saudi Arabia

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月14日

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  • Hadeel Aldhowayan,
  • Sara Zaher,
  • Suha Hashim Abduljawad,
  • Hanan Bukhari,
  • Shahad Awad Alharbi,
  • Reema Alsufiani,
  • Rama Aleynbawi,
  • Marah Aloufi,
  • Lamyaa Alhejaili,
  • Wafa Alharbi

摘要

Background

Disordered eating behaviors (DEBs), food addiction (FA), and compulsive exercise (CE) represent increasing public health concerns among university students, particularly those enrolled in nutrition-related programs. Although research examining disordered eating attitudes in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, has expanded in recent years, studies specifically targeting nutrition major students and employing standardized assessment instruments remain limited. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the prevalence of DEBs, FA, and CE and to examine their associations with body mass index (BMI), educational level, age, and academic achievement, as indicated by grade point average (GPA), among female nutrition students at Taibah University in Al Madinah Al Munawwarah.

Method

An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted from January 29 to May 1, 2025, among 138 undergraduate nutrition majors (aged 18–25) at Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, using a self-administered online questionnaire to collect demographic data (age, BMI, GPA, educational level) and four validated instruments, the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire -Short (EDE-QS) and the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-Revised 18-item version (TFEQ-R18) for DEBs, the Modified Yale Food Addiction Scale Version 2.0 (mYFAS 2.0) for FA, and the Compulsive Exercise Test (CET) for CE. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and unadjusted Pearson correlation analyses were performed to examine associations between study variables.

Results

Based on the EDE-QS, 21.7% of 138 clinical nutrition students were classified as having a high risk of eating disorders. Eating behavior patterns assessed by the TFEQ-R18 indicated that body mass index (BMI) showed a low positive association with cognitive restraint and a positive association with emotional eating, both negligible, whereas uncontrolled eating was significantly negatively associated with age and educational level. Severe food addiction was identified in 11.6% of participants, and 21% demonstrated high levels of compulsive exercise, whereas age, educational level, and GPA showed limited to no significant associations with most outcomes.

Conclusion

This study highlights the importance of BMI as a key indicator in identifying at-risk students for DEBs, FA and CE. These findings highlight the need for future longitudinal research to examine causal relationships and to assess preventive and supportive strategies targeting maladaptive eating and exercise behaviors among nutrition students.