Asia PacificJournalofMultidisciplinaryResearch, Vol. 7, No. 2, May, 2019 Part II _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 32 P-ISSN 2350-7756 | E-ISSN 2350-8442 | www.apjmr.com Anthropometric Status and Eating Behavior as Predictors of University Students’ Academic Achievement Gilbert C. Magulod Jr. (PhD) 1 & Juvelyn D. Capili (PhD) 2 1 Cagayan State University at Lasam, Lasam, Cagayan, Philippines 2 Cagayan State University at Lallo,Lallo, Cagayan, Philippines 1 gilbertmagulod_rdecsulasam46@yahoo.com Date Received: August 2, 2018; Date Revised: April 3, 2019 Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research Vol. 7 No.2, 32-42 May2019 P-ISSN 2350-7756 E-ISSN 2350-8442 www.apjmr.com CHED Recognized Journal ASEAN Citation Index Abstract-Nutrition, Health, and Education are fundamental pillars of human resource development index. University students are the future nation-builders hence investment in their health and education will actually lead to a strong and developed nation. The study generally investigated the interplay of anthropometric status, academic performance and eating behavior of university students. It specifically investigated the students' anthropometric status, their academic performance and their eating behavior on healthy eating habits, emotional and personal eating styles, and consciousness in food safety. The descriptive correlational research design was utilized in the study with sixty randomly sampled participants. Results revealed that majority of the respondents were in normal weight, have good academic standing, and have neutral eating behavior. Test of difference showed that males have higher weight than females, students with higher weekly allowance, and whose parents have higher level of educational attainment and family income have higher BMI. Likewise, in terms of eating behaviors, those who have high academic performance, mothers are professionals, and from teacher education department have the highest assessment on their healthy eating habits while no significant difference was found on the academic performance of the respondents. Test of relationship revealed that academic achievement is correlated to the students’ healthy eating habits. Moreover, regression analysis showed that nutritional status and healthy eating habits predict the academic performance of the university students at 16.5 percent strength of association. Results of the study will serve as a basis for educational health intervention and promotion. Keywords – Nutritional Status, Academic Performance, BMI, Eating Behavior, University Students INTRODUCTION One important quality indicators of Human Resources is the Human Development Index (HDI). It emphasizes that people and their capabilities should be the primary criterion to assess the development of a country. The basis for any true development must commence with the development of human resources. Among the determinants of HDI were education, health, and economy. When there are well educated human resources, the healthier they will be and the better economy of a nation is expected. Hence, these factors were closely related to the people’s nutritional status. An understanding of the nature of the relationship between health and education is necessary for policy planners, implementers, as well as curriculum makers and implementers. Social and economic developments of all nations largely depend on the quality of higher education. For universities around the world, promoting the health and well-being of students means a way of promoting quality education. The problem on the nutritional status of university students is considered a global issue in which every educational institution should consider as a priority. According to Gan, Mohd, Zalilah, &Hazizi [1] the presence of unhealthy eating behaviors among university students is a serious concern. It is therefore imperative to encourage university students to observe proper eating behavior with the ultimate goal of developing a culture of health-conscious individuals and promote better academic achievement. They further emphasized that college students are manifesting unhealthy eating habits leading to gain in body weight and make their self-regulating food choices. Additionally, a study carried out by Adolphus, Lawton, and Dye [2] found out that insufficient and unbalanced diet observed among university students encounter difficulties in learning