Relationship Between Internet Addiction, Risk of Eating Disorders and Body Mass Index Among Students in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3923/pjn.2020.491.499Keywords:
Body mass index, eating behavior, eating disorders, internet addiction, MalaysiaAbstract
Background and Objective: Internet use among university students has increased dramatically in recent years leading to internet addiction for some students. The study was conducted to determine the internet addiction, the risk of eating disorders among students in UKM and to identify the relationship between internet addiction, risk of eating disorders and body mass index. Materials and Methods: A total of 351 undergraduate students between 19 and 27 years old were selected using a convenience sampling method. The data collection process was done through anthropometric measurement and questionnaire. Anthropometric measurement was performed to determine the body mass index (BMI) which is determined by body weight and height. The questionnaires included socio-demographic information and health status. Internet addiction was assessed using the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) while eating disorder was assessed using the EAT-26. Results: The results showed that IAT mean scores for male (39.6±10.0) and female (38.3±10.2) subjects did not differ significantly (p>0.05). Most subjects had mild levels of internet addiction (66.7%), while some had a moderate (13.4%) level and the rest had no internet addiction (19.9%). The risk of eating disorders was 16.5% (male: 18.9%, female: 14.2%). The IAT scores was significant and positively correlated with the EAT-26 scores (r = 0.120, p<0.05) for female and all subjects. In addition, there was a significant positive correlation between IAT scores and BMI for males (r = 0.218, p<0.01) and all subjects (r = 0.157, p<0.01) and between EAT-26 scores and BMI for male subjects (r = 0.260, p<0.01) and all subjects (r = 0.207, p<0.01). Conclusion: The internet addiction levels were found to be at mild levels. A significant positive correlation between IAT and EAT-26 scores for female and all subjects and between IAT scores and BMI was observed for male and all subjects.
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