The Correlation Between Appetitive Traits And Dietary Behavior Among Female College Students

Background and objective:Female college students are in emerging adulthood,and are prone to develop unhealthy dietary behaviors due to the influence of the"thinness"culture and the unique food environment of university campuses.Appetitive traits are important factors that affect food choices,eating behaviors and dietary intake/nutrition.Through these dietary behaviors,appetitive traits affect individual’s nutritional status and weight.However,there are few studies on the correlation between female college students’appetitive traits,dietary behavior,and weight status.Further exploring the factors affecting the weight status and eating behavior of female college students is beneficial to carry out targeted prevention and intervention,which has practical significance for promoting women’s health.Therefore,this study will investigate the appetitive traits,dietary behavior,and BMI of female college students and(1)analyze the impact of appetitive traits on BMI and dietary behavior(meal regularity,food choice,food preference,and dieting behavior),(2)compare the differences in BMI and dietary behavior across female college students with different appetitive patterns analyzed using the latent profile analysis(LPA)method.Methods:A total of 520 female college students from a university in Hangzhou were selected as research subjects through convenience sampling.The Chinese version of the adult eating behavior questionnaire(C-AEBQ)and the self-designed questionnaire were used to investigate the appetitive traits,dietary behavior(including the intake frequency of breakfast,lunch,dinner,fruit,dairy products,sugary drinks,delivered food,spicy food,and cold food per week,as well as whether there have been any dieting behaviors in the past six months)and BMI of female college students.The correlation between them is tested by Pearson or Spearman correlation test.Using the score of appetitive traits as an explicit variable,the latent profile analysis(LPA)was used to classify female college students into different groups.Analysis of variance and chi-square test were used to compare the differences in BMI and dietary behavior among different groups.Univariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between appetitive traits groups and dietary behavior.Results:(1)For food approach traits,enjoyment of food(EF;r=0.156,P<0.001)and emotional overeating(EOE;r=0.113,P=0.010)was positively correlated with BMI,while food responsiveness(FR)and hunger(H)were not associated with BMI.For food avoidance traits,slowness in eating(SE;r=-0.196,P<0.001),satiety responsiveness(SR;r=-0.243,P<0.001)was negatively correlated with BMI,while food fussiness(FF)and emotional under-eating(EUE)were not associated with BMI.(2)There is a correlation between appetitive traits and dietary behaviors.EF is positively correlated with the intake of dairy products(r_s=0.092,P=0.036)and spicy foods(r_s=0.136,P=0.002),and negatively correlated with skipping breakfast(r_s=-0.116,P=0.008)and skipping lunch(r_s=-0.129,P=0.003).EOE was positively correlated with the intake of spicy food(r_s=0.089,P=0.042),and there was a statistically significant difference between EOE and dieting behavior(P=0.024).FR was positively correlated with the intake of delivered food(r_s=0.157,P<0.001),sugary beverages(r_s=0.112,P=0.011),spicy food(r_s=0.238,P<0.001),and cold food(r_s=0.113,P<0.001).H was positively correlated with the intake of spicy food(r_s=0.110,P=0.012)and cold food(r_s=0.104,P=0.017),and negatively correlated with skipping breakfast(r_s=-0.129,P=0.003).FF was positively correlated with skipping lunch(r_s=0.106,P=0.015)and negatively correlated with the intake of dairy products(r_s=-0.087,P=0.047)and fruits(r_s=-0.132,P=0.003).EUE was negatively correlated with the intake of dairy products(r_s=-0.098,P=0.026).SR was positively correlated with skipping breakfast(r_s=0.121,P=0.006),skipping lunch(r_s=0.152,P<0.001),and skipping dinner(r_s=0.106,P=0.015)and the intake of sugary beverages(r_s=0.099,P=0.024).(3)Participants were classified into four appetitive patterns according their AEBQ scores using LPA,which were named as food approachers(n=137,26.4%),food approachers with emotional under-eating(n=102,19.6%),food avoiders with emotional over-eating(n=114,21.9%)and food avoiders(n=167,32.1%).(4)There were differences in BMI among participants with different appetitive patterns.The BMI of food avoiders was significantly lower than that of other three patterns(P<0.01).(5)When compared with food approachers,food avoiders(OR=2.14,95%CI:1.26～3.64;P=0.01)and food avoiders with emotional over-eating had higher frequency of skipping breakfast(OR=2.02,95%CI:1.13～3.62;P=0.02),and food avoiders with emotional over-eating also had higher frequency for skipping lunch(OR=3.12,95%CI:1.06～9.14;P=0.04).There was not significant difference in dieting behaviors among four appetitive patterns.Conclusion:(1)Appetitive traits of female college students are related to BMI,with EF and EOE positively affecting BMI,while SE and SR negatively affecting BMI.(2)Appetitive traits of female college students are related to their dietary behavior.EF positively affect the intake of breakfast,lunch,dairy products,and spicy foods;FR positively affect the intake of sugary beverages,delivered food,spicy food and cold food;H positively affect the intake of breakfast,spicy food and cold food;FF negatively affect the intake of lunch,dairy products,and fruits;SR negatively affect the intake of breakfast,lunch and dinner.(3)Female college students can be classified into four appetitive patterns:food approachers,food approachers with emotional under-eating,food avoiders with emotional over-eating and food avoiders,emotion was an important factor for classification.(4)BMI and meal regularity showed significant differences among individuals with different appetitive patterns,but no significant differences were found in other dietary behaviors.