The Association Between Chronotypes, Eating Behavior, and Obesity Risk Among Undergraduate Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: Individuals differ in their sleep and activity timings, aligning with their circadian rhythms and this situation is described within the chronotype concept. It is stated that people who prefer evening sleep and have longer sleep duration have a higher prevalence of overweight/obesity than those who prefer morning sleep and have adequate sleep duration. The process of starting university is a critical period for many students as they start to make their own food choices. The aim of our study is to evaluate the impact of chronotypes on obesity and unhealthy eating and accordingly assess university students’ tendencies toward
METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, individuals’ body composition was determined by utilizing the bioelectric impedance method. The Morningness – Eveningness Questionnaire, the Night Eating Questionnaire and the 30-Item Mindful Eating
RESULTS: A total of 103 undergraduate students whose mean age is 21.4±3.1 and who comprise 80.6% (n=83) women participated in our study. No significant differences between chronotype categories and anthropometric measurements were found (p>0.05). Eating discipline scores of students from health-related departments were shown to be higher than those of students from other departments (p=0.000).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Even though the main hypothesis was not confirmed, this study focuses on promoting healthy eating behaviors among undergraduate students by increasing nutrition knowledge and enhancing mindful eating, with the ultimate goal of preventing obesity which is a significant public health concern today.

Keywords: Circadian rhythm, eating behavior, mindful eating, obesity, public health, unhealthy eating.