51. Eating competence is related to executive function skills in college students.
- Author
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Harris CL, Chapman H, and Groves N
- Subjects
- Humans, Female, Male, Cross-Sectional Studies, Universities, Young Adult, Adult, Adolescent, Surveys and Questionnaires, Students psychology, Executive Function physiology, Feeding Behavior psychology
- Abstract
Purpose: This study aimed to determine the relationship between eating competence (EC) and executive function (EF) skills in college students., Methods: This cross-sectional study was part of a larger study in which an online survey was administered during autumn quarter 2020 to undergraduate students at a northwestern U.S. public university. Sociodemographic data were collected, along with measures of EC (16-item Satter Eating Competence Inventory, ecSI-2.0™) and EF skills (27-item Executive Function Index, EFI). Multiple linear regression was used to examine the ecSI-2.0™ total score and its four domain scores with each of the five EF skills., Results: Of the 1996 respondents included in the final analyses, 40.2 % were eating competent (total ecSI-2.0™ ≥32). The mean ecSI-2.0™ score among participants was 28.7. Gender distribution was 72.0 % women, 23.3 % men, and 4.7 % trans-and-gender non-conforming (TGNC) or preferred not to answer. EFI scores were higher among women (70.9) than among men (68.2) and TGNC (64.9). Both total ecSI-2.0™ score and the contextual skills domain were significantly associated with four of the EFI subscales. Internal regulation was related to impulse control and motivational drive. Further significant associations were found with other domains of ecSI-2.0™ and specific EFI subscales., Conclusion: EF skills are associated with EC in college students, particularly skills related to food management and internal regulation. Since both EF and EC can be developed, this study offers promise for future research in an increasingly gender-diverse and neurodiverse college population during a time of increasing independence and autonomy., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Cristen Harris reports a relationship with Ellyn Satter Institute that includes: consulting or advisory and speaking and lecture fees. The use of REDCap was made possible through the Institute of Translational Health Science (ITHS) grant support to the University of Washington (CH): UL1 TR002319 from NCATS/NIH. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2024
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