Dietary Behaviour and Mental Health Status among Students of Higher Education Institutes in Malaysia

Abstract

This study explored students' eating behaviour and mental health status from higher education institutes (HEI) in Malaysia. A sequential mixed-method approach was employed. 438 participants were assessed using an online questionnaire cross-sectionally. In the second phase, selected participants were interviewed using a grounded theory approach. Findings indicated that 51% of the students were depressed, 67% were anxious, and 43% were stressed. Financial freedom emerged as a theme, including transportation and food choices explaining the significant association in the quantitative phase. Prospective intervention should focus on understanding the causal pathways that increase mental health issues among HEI students. Keywords: ecological factors; eating behaviour; mental health; higher education institutes; mixed-method eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i20.3394