Associations between Self-Esteem, Skipping Meal and Sleep Quality with Overweight and Obesity among University Students

Background/Aims: University students undergo significant lifestyle changes including living independently, coping with increasing academic demand and adjustment to new environment. Poor adjustment to new environment could contribute to lower self-esteem, meal skipping and experiencing poor sleep quality which may affect their body weight status. Methods: This cross sectional study aimed to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity and its association with self-esteem, meal skipping behaviour and sleep quality among university students. A total of 240 undergraduates students (24.6% male and 75.4% female) with mean age of 21.22 ± 1.24 years from Universiti Putra Malaysia were recruited through simple random sampling. Respondents completed the Rosenberg Self Esteem Questionnaire, Eating Behaviour Questionnaire and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Results: Height and weight were measured and indexed into body mass index. The prevalence of overweight and obesity were 25.9% and 19.6% respectively. Binary logistic regression analysis (adjusted for gender and age) revealed that university students who skipped meal (OR = 4.55, CI: 1.03–20.12, p < 0.05) and had poor sleep quality (OR = 2.09, CI: 1.12–3.89, p < 0.05) were more likely to be overweight and obese. Conclusion: Lower self-esteem was not associated with their body weight status. Understanding modifiable behaviour associated with overweight and obesity enhanced the development of wellness program against development of overweight and obesity among university students.