Date
8-2022
Degree
Bachelor of Science in Nutrition
College
College of Human Ecology (CHE)
Adviser/Committee Chair
Marie Faye R. Nguyen-Orca
Co-adviser
Divine Grace C. Domingo
Abstract
Multiple determinants, such as socio-demographic characteristics, economic and physical factors, as well as macro-environment may have an impact on the diet quality (DQ) of university students. More so, the COVID-19 pandemic may cause an increase in stress and anxiety among college students, potentially affecting their dietary behaviors. As such, this study sought to examine the relationship between diet quality and perceived anxiety level among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. With a cross-sectional research design, an online survey was carried out among nutrition students at the University of the Philippines Los Baños. Majority of the respondents were female (80.2%); sophomore standing (27.8%); with a monthly household income ranging from Php 21,915 – Php 43,828 (38.1%). Mean healthy eating index (HEI) score for the total sample of university students (n=126) was 40.84 ± 9.3, implying a poor diet quality among them. Moreover, the mean generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7) score was 9.60 ± 5.25, 32.5% of them had mild anxiety while the proportion of students with minimal anxiety, moderate anxiety, and severe anxiety were, 18.3%, 29.4%, and 19.8%, respectively. Through the Spearman rank correlation analysis, sex (r=0.197; p-value=0.027) and current university standing (r=0.198; p-value=0.026) were significantly, positively associated with diet quality. Meanwhile, age (r=-0.175; p-value=0.050) and year level (r=-0.199; p-value=0.025) were significantly, negatively associated with perceived anxiety level. Examination of individual coefficients indicated that the HEI added sugar component score was significantly, negatively associated with GAD-7 score (r=-0.271; p-value=0.002; 95% CI = 2.44 to 3.51). In contrast, the HEI fatty acids component score was significantly, positively associated with GAD (r=0.200; p-value = 0.024, 95% CI = 1.53 to 1.94). There were no significant differences between the total GAD-7 scores and HEI component scores for total fruits, whole fruits, total vegetables, greens and beans, whole grains, dairy products, total protein foods, refined grains, sodium, and saturated fats. The current findings demonstrate that a large portion of university students have a poor diet quality and are perceived to have mild to moderate anxiety during the pandemic. Thus, it is indispensable to encourage changes in their current dietary patterns. Furthermore, academic institutions as well as health care professionals may utilize this study to take future steps to improve diet quality among university students.
Language
English
LC Subject
Diet quality, Perceived anxiety, University students, Nutrition, COVID-19 pandemic
Location
UPLB College of Human Ecology (CHE)
Recommended Citation
Entereso, Arvin Jay A., "Relationship between diet quality and perceived anxiety during the Covid-19 pandemic among undergraduate students of CHE-IHNF, UPLB" (2022). Undergraduate Theses. 9285.
https://www.ukdr.uplb.edu.ph/etd-undergrad/9285
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Document Type
Thesis