Dietary stress in relation to exams anxiety among Greek students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine, in a sample of Greek students, the relationship between dietary stress habits and state exams anxiety. In 158 subjects were administered a self-reported questionnaire containing demographic profile, anthropometric measurements, nutrition and stress quiz eating habits related to comfort foods that reflects them unhealthy behaviour and state part of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Frequencies, percentiles, medians and means were used for descriptive purposes. Independent-Samples T test with Levene’s F test, bivariate and partial Pearson r correlation analysis were performed. The prevalences of underweight, normal range, overweight and obesity according to BMI classification were 11,5%, 69,6%, 15,5% and 3,4% respectively. Dietary stress lifestyle choices, such as foods high in quick energy, cola beverages, coffee or tea, salt, chocolates, donughts or pastries and highfat fast food, burgers and fries under exams stress conditions, along with smoking and heavy drinking associated with level of the state anxiety score in students. Results from the questionnaire indicated that state exams anxiety is independently associated with dietary stress habits and a correlation was also found between sex (male:1, female:2) with state exams anxiety (r=+0,283, p=0,001) and dietary stress (r=-0,275, p=0,002). 58,8% of low stress habits students showed a low level state anxiety but conversely 61,3% of students with moderate and high stress habits increase in anxiety. The dietary stress habits had higher mean score for men than for women (5,6±2,3 vs 3,9±2,3, p=0,02) and the score of exams state anxiety (35,44±9,4 vs 44,72±12,7, p<0,001 for gender differences) was in reverse order. In examination period the anxious male students had prefer to eat pastries or other foods high in quick energy (sugars) and anxious females to eat more chocolates. Statistically significant differences between sex group (with superior in males) were found in the drink cola beverages (p=0,01), alcohol (p=0,001) and smoking tobacco (p=0,001). According to the results of this study it can be suggested that the exams perceived stress in students were differentiated between genders and is likely appeared to be more as state exams anxiety in females and unhealthy lifestyle and dietary habits in males