Sleep Quality, Food Choice Motives, and Body Weight Status among Malaysian Undergraduate Students: A Cross-Sectional Study
- 1Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kampar, Malaysia
Abstract
Objective: To compare sleep quality and food choice motives across different body weight status among undergraduate students. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from February to September 2025 at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Perak, Malaysia. Eligible participants were full-time Malaysian undergraduate students aged 18–25 years. Body weight status was determined using body mass index (BMI) and categorized as underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obesity according to Asian-specific cut-offs. Sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), while food choice motives were assessed using a modified 38-item Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) covering 10 domains. Results: Of total 251 undergraduate students, the median age was 21.0 (IQR: 20.0–22.0) years. Normal weight was observed in 108 (43.0%) students, followed by underweight and overweight in 59 (23.5%) each and obesity in 25 (10.0%). Overall, 108 (43.0%) students had good sleep quality, while 143 (57.0%) had poor sleep quality. Poor sleep quality was insignificantly higher among overweight/obese students (p-value =0.692). Most food choice motives showed no significant differences across BMI categories (p-value >0.05); however, weight-control motives differed significantly (p-value =0.014), with the highest median scores among normal weight and students with obesity 3.33 (IQR: 2.33–3.92) and 3.00 (IQR: 2.2.33–4.00), respectively and the lowest among underweight students 2.67 (IQR: 1.67–3.33). Conclusion: Poor sleep quality was common, but did not differ across BMI categories. Most food choice motives were similar, except weight control motives, which had higher scores among normal weight and overweight/obesity students.
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BibTeX
@article{jie2026sleep,
title = {{Sleep Quality, Food Choice Motives, and Body Weight Status among Malaysian Undergraduate Students: A Cross-Sectional Study}},
author = {Yvoune Lee Si Jie and Fatin Izzaty Mohd Shahrin and Cheah Khang Jin and Nurul Aimi Ab Kadir},
journal = {Journal of the Dow University of Health Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
url = {https://mail.jduhs.com/index.php/jduhs/article/view/2971},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Sleep Quality, Food Choice Motives, and Body Weight Status among Malaysian Undergraduate Students: A Cross-Sectional Study
AU - Yvoune Lee Si Jie
AU - Fatin Izzaty Mohd Shahrin
AU - Cheah Khang Jin
AU - Nurul Aimi Ab Kadir
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - Journal of the Dow University of Health Sciences
UR - https://mail.jduhs.com/index.php/jduhs/article/view/2971
AB - Objective: To compare sleep quality and food choice motives across different body weight status among undergraduate students. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from February to September 2025 at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Perak, Malaysia. Eligible participants were full-time Malaysian undergraduate students aged 18–25 years. Body weight status was determined using body mass index (BMI) and categorized as underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obesity according to Asian-specific cut-offs. Sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), while food choice motives were assessed using a modified 38-item Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) covering 10 domains. Results: Of total 251 undergraduate students, the median age was 21.0 (IQR: 20.0–22.0) years. Normal weight was observed in 108 (43.0%) students, followed by underweight and overweight in 59 (23.5%) each and obesity in 25 (10.0%). Overall, 108 (43.0%) students had good sleep quality, while 143 (57.0%) had poor sleep quality. Poor sleep quality was insignificantly higher among overweight/obese students (p-value =0.692). Most food choice motives showed no significant differences across BMI categories (p-value >0.05); however, weight-control motives differed significantly (p-value =0.014), with the highest median scores among normal weight and students with obesity 3.33 (IQR: 2.33–3.92) and 3.00 (IQR: 2.2.33–4.00), respectively and the lowest among underweight students 2.67 (IQR: 1.67–3.33). Conclusion: Poor sleep quality was common, but did not differ across BMI categories. Most food choice motives were similar, except weight control motives, which had higher scores among normal weight and overweight/obesity students.
SN - 1995-2198
SN - 2410-2180
ER -