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. OBJECTIVES 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. MATERIALS AND 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.