Intuitive Eating Behaviour among Young Malay Adults in Malaysian Higher Learning Institutions

• Published in: Nutrients
• Main Author: Muhammad R.; Ismail W.N.D.R.A.W.; Firdus S.; Abdul Hamid S.B.; Mohd Asmawi U.M.; Md Nor N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI 2023
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85148861494&doi=10.3390%2fnu15040869&partnerID=40&md5=9c4890ddf02da721ece13f1fc3840b9d

Despite the significance of dietary knowledge interventions, there is a lack of established studies on intuitive eating behaviour among young Malay adults in Malaysia. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the intuitive eating score, identify the intuitive eating factors, and determine the association of intuitive eating with weight-control behaviours and binge eating. A total of 367 respondents completed self-administered questionnaires on sociodemographic characteristics, namely the Intuitive Eating Scale (IES-2) and The Diabetes Eating Problems Survey (DEPS). The findings reported IES-2 mean scores of 3.52 ± 0.32 and 3.47 ± 0.35 for both men and women. No difference in total IES-2 scores was found between genders for Unconditional Permission to Eat (UPE) and Reliance on Hunger and Satiety Cue (RHSC) subscales (p > 0.05). However, among all four subscales of IES-2, there was a gender difference in the mean EPR and B-FCC subscale scores (p < 0.05). A statistically significant difference was found in intuitive eating, which refers to a belief in one’s body’s ability to tell one how much to eat, in women across living areas (p < 0.05). The result shows that there is a relationship between weight-control behaviour and binge eating and dieting, with the coefficient of the relationship (R2) of 0.34. As a result, intuitive eating throughout young adulthood is likely to be related to a decreased prevalence of obesity, dieting, poor weight-management behaviours, and binge eating. © 2023 by the authors.