Objective@#To investigate the correlation between
body composition and
eating habits among
medical students, and to provide evidence for
health promotion.@*
Methods@#In December 2021, stratified cluster random sampling
method was used to conduct a
questionnaire survey and
body composition assessment among 445
students in grade one to grade four in Jining Medical
University.@*Results@#There were 152
girls (53.3%) and 45
boys (28.1%) with low
skeletal muscle mass. Totally 167
students ( 37.5% ) had lower
muscle mass, including 115
females (40.4%) and 49
males (30.6%). High
body fat percentage was found in 259 (58.2%)
students, including 179
females (62.8%) and 80
males (50.0%). There were 192
students (43.1%) with abnormal
waist to hip ratio, with 139
females (48.8%) and 53
males (33.1%). In addition, emotional
eating score of
female students was significantly higher than that of
male students(6.85±2.24, 6.11±2.69, t =2.96, P <0.05). Cognitive restricted
eating was positively correlated with
skeletal muscle mass and musde mass( r=0.13, 0.13, P <0.05). Emotional
eating was positively correlated with
body fat percentage,
body fat and
waist hip ratio( r =0.20, 0.20, 0.16, P <0.05). Unrestricted
eating was positively correlated with
body fat percentage,
body fat and
waist hip ratio( r =0.15, 0.18, 0.15, P <0.05). Multiple
linear regression analysis showed that
gender,
family residence,
physical activity and cognitive
eating were associated with
skeletal muscle mass and
muscle mass of
medical students( P <0.05).@*Conclusion@#With low
skeletal muscle mass, low
muscle mass,
body fat percentage and waist and
hip high ratio, reasonable
eating habits combined with resistance
exercise should be adopted to improve their physical
health.