Sağlık Bilimleri Öğrencilerinin Hedonik Açlık Düzeyi: Kesitsel Araştırma

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the hedonic hunger level of health science students. Material and Methods: A face-to-face survey with voluntary students (n=374) was conducted to collect the data including their demographic profile, anthropometric characteristics, hedonic hunger level, and desire for foods. The Power of Food Scale (PFS) was used to determine the hedonic hunger level whereas the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was utilized to check the students' desire for the consumption of palatable foods. Chi-square test and Pearson correlation analysis were performed to analyze the data. Results: The female students felt more hedonic hunger than the male students. However, gender showed no significant difference with respect to the total PFS score (p>0.05). Pearson analysis indicated no correlation between the PFS scores and anthropometric measurements (p>0.05). Ice-cream was found to be the most desired food by students followed by fruits and nuts. Positive significant correlations between the PFS scores and the desire for the consumption of desserts, chocolate, cake, patisserie foods, ice-cream, fast food, fried potato, and snack were determined according to the VAS scores (p<0.05). Conclusion: Students felt hedonic hunger and desired mostly the consumption of calorie-dense foods such as desserts, chocolate, cake, patisserie foods, ice-cream, and fried potato. The consumption of calorie-dense foods can lead to the weight gain which is associated with obesity. Therefore, the awareness of the students on the hedonic hunger should be increased to prevent the risk of obesity in their later life.