Emotional Eating among Ghanaian University Students: Associations with Physical and Mental Health Measures.

Eating behaviors are a set of cognitive processes that influence dietary decision making and, thus, overall health. Some of the most studied eating behaviors are those characterized by the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire-18 (TFEQ). The TFEQ examines three eating behaviors: emotional eating (EE), uncontrolled eating (UE), and restrained eating (RE). While frequently used, there is little information characterizing these eating behaviors in the Ghanaian population. This cross-sectional study describes EE, UE, and RE behaviors in a university student population (n = 129) in Ghana. Of the three behaviors, EE was the only one associated with any of the health outcomes in this study: BMI for males (r = 0.388, p = 0.002) and anxiety (r = 0.471, p < 0.001, higher score is less desirable), and sleep quality (r = 0.464, p < 0.001, higher score is less desirable) for females. Overweight and obese females reported significantly higher EE scores compared to healthy weight females (35.7 ± 23.7 vs. 11.9 ± 15.6, p = 0.002). No such observation was observed among overweight and obese males (p > 0.05). EE, UE, and RE scores did not differ between males and females. While this study provides important information about the eating behaviors of Ghanaian university students and allows for comparison to students from other cultures, future work must develop culturally relevant tools for the Ghanaian population.

Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Health Behaviors of Higher Education Students in Ghana: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Stressful events can significantly impact health behaviors of tertiary students in various ways. Many studies reported adverse alterations in health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is limited knowledge about students from sub-Saharan African countries. Therefore, this study aimed to assess effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health behaviors of Ghanaian tertiary students, with an emphasis on the association between sleep and other health behaviors. A cross-sectional study with eligible tertiary students from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana (n = 129) was conducted. An online survey assessed quality and duration of sleep, financial stress, dietary risk, alcohol misuse, and physical exercise using validated tools. Health behaviors did not differ by gender. The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected health behaviors for many students including dietary intake (20.2%), sleep quality (20.2%) and duration (81.4%), alcohol consumption (3.1%), exercise frequency (4.1%), and exercise intensity (38%). Shorter sleep duration was linked with greater alcohol misuse scores (p < 0.05). A majority of the students (56%) had increased financial stress during the pandemic. This study contributes important insights into the effects that stressful events such as a pandemic have on the health of higher education students in sub-Saharan Africa.