Disturbed Eating Attitude and Body Shape Apprehension in University Students in Karachi, Pakistan

Eating attitudes play a crucial role in the overall well-being of individuals, particularly among university students who often face various academic, social, and personal stressors. Objective: To examine eating attitudes and body shape apprehensions among university students in Karachi, Pakistan, with a particular focus on private and public institutions. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was utilized to address this objective, selecting 200 students from private sector universities and 200 from public sector universities in Karachi, Pakistan, using purposive sampling. The participants, aged between 19 and (M=22.55, SD=1.813), completed a respondent's profile form, the Eating Attitude Test-26, and the Body Shape Questionnaire-16. Results: The findings revealed that undergraduates in public universities exhibited a significantly higher prevalence of disturbed eating attitudes compared to their counterparts in private universities. However, both groups of students experienced body image concerns at a relatively similar level. Additionally, first-year students in both private and public universities demonstrated significantly higher levels of body shape apprehension and disturbed eating attitudes compared to final-year students. Furthermore, students in social sciences exhibited more body shape apprehension and disturbed eating attitudes than their counterparts in science, engineering, and management faculties in both university sectors. Conclusions: This study underscores the noteworthy issue of disturbed eating attitudes and body shape concerns among university students in Karachi. To curb this problem among undergraduates, diligent monitoring and preventive measures are imperative.