Publication: The association between food delivery services usage, BMI, and waist circumference: a study among undergraduate students in the School Of Health Sciences, Usm Kubang Kerian, Kelantan
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Date
2025-06
Authors
Faizal, Yasmin Mukhlisah Mohd
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This study investigate the association between the usage of food delivery services and anthropometric measurements, specifically Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference, among undergraduate students at the School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia Kubang Kerian (USMKK). Given that students often having hectic schedules, food delivery services have become a popular convenience to get meals quickly and easily. However, there are concerns about how frequently using these services might affect students’ health, especially since many delivered meals tend to be fast food or less nutritious options. A cross-sectional study was conducted with students aged 18 to 25 from Health Sciences programmes that involved a total of 105 students. Convenience sampling was used to choose the participants. Result showed that, majority of the participants (59%) used food delivery services once a week. The findings also revealed that accessibility and convenience, promotional offers and limited time to cook are the main reasons that influenced the use of food delivery services with 33.0%, 22.3% and 18.1% of respondents citing these factors respectively. However, statistical results indicated that there are no significant association between frequency of food delivery usage with BMI (p=0.977) and waist circumference (p=0.458) as all p-values > 0.05. these results further illustrated that the usage of food delivery services does not necessarily or directly affecting anthropometric measurement, unless other influencing factors such as environment, psychological and lifestyle were included. This research aims to provide useful information on how relying on food delivery might influence students’ body weight and health risks. By having better understanding regarding these connections can help universities develop better health programs and encourage healthier eating habits among students. This study is important given that Malaysia is seeing an increase in overweight and obesity rates and that young adults' eating habits have a significant impact on their long-term health
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