The relationship between mindful eating and mental well-being among sports science students in UiTM Sarawak / Siti Nur Aisyah Mazlan

Mindful eating was hypothesized to be being aware in the present moment when one was eating, paying close attention to the senses, including physical and emotional sensations, which might be profoundly changed by psychological factors. Mental wellbeing refers to people who believe in gaining meaningful control over their daily lives; thus, people who are physically active have higher life satisfaction. However, nowadays, eating mindlessly and poor mental well-being are on the rise, setting a bad example for the community especially in promoting a healthy lifestyle. Thus, the objective of this study was to examine the relationship between mindful eating and mental well-being among sports science students in UiTM Sarawak. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used, and 240 total students from the Faculty of Sports Science and Recreation at UiTM Sarawak were selected as respondents for this study. The data collection was conducted in June 2023 via Google Forms. The Mindful Eating Questionnaire was used to measure mindfulness, while mental well-being was measured through the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale. The findings showed that mental well-being was found to be significantly correlated with mindful eating domains awareness and distraction. However, there was no significant relationship between mental well-being with disinhibition, external cues and emotional response. These findings show that mindful eating may be an interesting topic to investigate further since there are not straightforward and complex relationships between mindful eating and mental well-being. It is recommended to measure the scope of mindfulness’ knowledge in eating along with the food categories that impact the capacity of mindful eating and mental well-being.