Comparison of Intuitive Eating Practices between the Students of Nutrition Majors and Non-Health Science Majors
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32350/ihr.61.04Keywords:
body mass index, intuitive eating, nutrition majorsAbstract
Intuitive eating (IE) promotes attunement to internal hunger and satiety cues rather than adherence to restrictive diets or external food rules. Since nutrition education shapes attitudes and behaviors towards food, nutrition majors may differ in eating practices from students in non–health sciences. The current study compared IE between nutrition and non–health sciences majors. It was hypothesized that nutrition majors would report higher IE and lower Body Mass Index (BMI). Additionally, IE was expected to be negatively associated with BMI, and both BMI and academic discipline were expected to predict IE. A cross-sectional sample of 301 final-year students from public and private universities in Lahore participated in the study (150 nutrition majors; 151 non–health sciences majors). Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire including demographics and the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (IES-2). BMI was calculated from self-reported data. Independent samples t-tests indicated that nutrition majors had significantly higher IES-2 scores and lower BMI than non–health sciences majors. Pearson correlation showed a significant negative association between IE and BMI. Hierarchical regression revealed that BMI was a significant negative predictor of IE, and academic discipline remained a significant predictor after controlling for BMI. Nutrition students demonstrated stronger IE practices and lower BMI than their peers. These findings highlighted the potential value of incorporating nutrition education and IE principles into curricula to support healthier eating behaviors among young adults.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Fatima Naqvi, Samawia Qureshi, Maida Qureshi
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