Investigating the Links Between Body Composition and Female University Students’ Night Eating Habits and Sleep Quality

Authors

Hanisah Rosli, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cyberjaya, Cyberjaya 63000, MalaysiaFollow
Arimi Fitri Mat Ludin, Center for Healthy Ageing and Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, MalaysiaFollow
Amanda Priscilla Lim, Programme of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, MalaysiaFollow
Vimalah Vallavan, Programme of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, MalaysiaFollow
Lew Sze Yuen, Programme of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, MalaysiaFollow
Norizatul Hidayah Yusop, Programme of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, MalaysiaFollow
Nur Athirah Razali, Programme of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, MalaysiaFollow
Amerull Daneal Amran, Programme of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, MalaysiaFollow
Nurfarahin Asmadi, Programme of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, MalaysiaFollow
Mohd Sham Othman, Center for Toxicology and Health Risk Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, MalaysiaFollow

ORCID ID

Hanisah Rosli : 0000-0002-4724-4534

Arimi Fitri Mat Ludin : 0000-0003-1517-2115

Amanda Priscilla Lim : 0000-0003-3504-3118

Vimalah Vallavan : 0000-0001-7666-1575

Lew Sze Yuen : 0000-0002-5402-6869

Norizatul Hidayah Yusop : -

Nur Athirah Razali : 0000-0003-1050-1709

Amerull Daneal Amran : -

Nurfarahin Asmadi : -

Mohd Sham Othman : 0000-0002-5078-2835

Abstract

Background: Malaysia has the highest prevalence of obesity among Southeast Asian countries, and the current number is expected to increase further. In particular, the rate of obesity is reportedly increasing among females and young adults in Malaysia. Modern lifestyle habits, which include night eating and poor sleep quality, have been shown to increase the risk of obesity and high body fat. This study aims to determine the link between female university students’ body composition and their night eating habits and sleep quality.

Methods: Body composition was measured using a Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) analyzer. Night eating syndrome and sleeping pattern and quality were determined using the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), respectively.

Results: A total of 112 female students participated in this study, the majority (66.1%) of whom were categorized as having normal weight. Their body fat percentages (28.0 ± 6.1) were found to be lower than the standard value for Asian women. Most of the subjects were categorized as having normal night eating (93.8%) and poor sleep (76.8%) patterns. The correlation analysis results indicated significant relationships between sleep quality and night eating habit and body weight. Furthermore, analysis using binary logistic regression showed a protective relationship between muscle mass and sleeping habit.

Conclusions: This study showed that the majority of the university students had poor sleep quality. This is an alarming finding. Therefore, further investigations on factors related to poor sleep quality among young adults are required.

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Recommended Citation

Rosli H, Mat Ludin A, Lim AP, Vallavan V, Sze Yuen L, Yusop N, et al. Investigating the Links Between Body Composition and Female University Students’ Night Eating Habits and Sleep Quality. Makara J Health Res. 2022;26.

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