Body Composition and Dietary Self-efficacy of Nursing Students

Abstract

Purpose:The purpose of this study was to examine body composition and dietary self-efficacy in nursing students. Methods: The study was a descriptive, correlational study with a convenience sample of 197 female nursing students. This study was conducted from April 1st to May 31th in 2015. SPSS 21.0 program was used for data analysis. Results: The average of body protein was 7.90±1.17 kg and normal range was 33%. A BMI's average was 21.02±2.94 kg/m 2 and 62.9 fell into standard range. The average of dietary self-efficacy of subjects was 3.42±0.53. The subjects performed intense physical activities during three or more days had higher body protein (F=5.89, p=.003), body minerals (F=6.15, p=.003) and body-efficacy (F=4.13, p=.017) but remarkably lower body fat (F=4.04, p=.019). There is no noticeable correlation of body composition with dietary self-efficacy. However, it is obvious that each category of body composition had a significant positive correlation. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that students who were inclined to overeat had higher body protein, body minerals, body fat, and BMI. Students performed intense physical activities had high body protein, body minerals, and dietary self-efficacy, whereas they had low body fat. Each entry between the body composition had a significant positive correlation.