Publication: The association between social media engagement, body image concern and eating behaviour among undergraduate health science students in Universiti Sains Malaysia
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Date
2026-01
Authors
Ali, Munira Adleena Mohd
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Abstract
The rapid growth of social media has influenced body image and eating habits among university students. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between eating habits, body image concerns, and social media use among undergraduate health science students at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Kubang Kerian. Simple random sampling was used in a cross-sectional quantitative design with 285 students. The Social Media Engagement Questionnaire (SMEQ), Body Self-Image Questionnaire–Short Form (BSIQ-SF) and Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) were used to gather data. The findings showed a significant negative correlation between social media engagement and body image concern (r= -0.309, p= 0.001), and positive correlation between social media engagement and eating behavior (r= 0.172, p=0.004). A stronger negative correlation was observed between body image concern and eating behavior (r= -0.481, p= 0. 001). These results emphasize how crucial it is to encourage positive body image and healthy social media use to reduce the risk of unhealthy eating habits among university students.
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