Fitness Intention and Its Relationship With Eating Attitudes: A Cross-Sectional Study of Iranian Female Medical College Students.
BACKGROUND
Fitness is a very important goal among young adults that may lead to eating disorders.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to identify the factors influencing fitness intention based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and its relationship to eating attitudes.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 231 female college students during the winter of 2012. Participants were randomly selected in proportion to their distribution among the different faculties at Hamadan University of Medical Sciences. A structured questionnaire was applied for collecting data and data was analyzed by SPSS version 21 using a T-test, ANOVA, bivariate correlations, and linear regression at a 95% significant level.


RESULTS
Nearly 21.6% of the participants had abnormal eating attitudes. The TPB variables accounted for 40% of the variation in fitness intention. Bivariate correlations indicated a positive correlation between fitness intention and eating attitude (r = 0.417, P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Based on our results, it seems that designing and implementing educational programs to reduce positive attitudes and encourage subjective norms toward fitness may be useful for preventing abnormal eating attitudes.
Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, IR Iran.
Seyyed Nasrollah
SN
Hosseini
Department of Public Health, School of Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, IR Iran.
Shohreh
S
Emdadi
Clinical Research Development Center, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, IR Iran.
Farzad
F
Jalilian
Clinical Research Development Center, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, IR Iran.
Behzad
B
Karami Matin
Clinical Research Development Center, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, IR Iran.
Mari
M
Ataee
Research Center for Environmental Determinants of Health, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, IR Iran.
Mehdi
M
Mirzaei Alavijeh
Attitude; Fitness; Intention; Student