The relation between eating behaviours and obsession among university students Ceren Gezer 1 , Mesut Yalvaç 2 1 Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Eastern Mediterranean University, Famagusta, North Cyprus - E-mail: ceren.gezer@emu.edu.tr; 2 Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Near East University, Nicosia, North Cyprus Summary. Aim: To investigate the relation between obsession and eating behaviours among university stu- dents including some factors that afected this relation. Methods: Tis cross-sectional study was conducted with 1754 university students. Te study sample was selected using the stratifed sampling method. Basic de- mographic data were collected. Eating attitudes were determined using the Eating Attitude Test (EAT)-40, and obsessive-compulsive behaviours were determined using the Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (MOCI). Anthropometric measurements were also examined. Results: Females (16.2%) were observed to have higher risks of eating disorder than males (11.4%) (p<0.05). Eating disorder risk was also higher among students in the educational sciences (20.4%), health sciences (14.4%), applied sciences (11.8%) and social sciences (10.4%) (p<0.05). A positive relation was found between eating behaviour and obsession (r=0.337, p<0.001). Conclusion: Te study found a relationship between eating behaviour and obsession. It also con- cluded that gender and education were the factors that afected eating behaviour and obsession. Key words: eating behaviours, eating disorders, obsession, obsessive-compulsive disorder, university students Progress in Nutrition 2018; Vol. 20, N. 3: 429-437 DOI: 10.23751/pn.v20i3.6326 © Mattioli 1885 Original Article Introduction Eating disorders are defned by the 10th revision of the International Classifcation of Disorders (ICD)- 10 as “behavioural syndromes associated with physio- logical disturbances and physical factors” (1). Research has shown that eating disorders are related with dis- tress, functional impairment, depression, suicide at- tempts, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, increased obesity risk and morbidity (2). According to the Di- agnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-V, eating disorders are classifed as Anorexia Nervosa (AN), Bulimia Nervosa (BN) and Binge Eat- ing Disorder (BED). AN is characterized by the main- tenance of a body weight below a minimum level that is considered to be normal for the relevant age, gender, developmental state and physical health; the practice of sustained energy intake restrictions; extreme fear of weight/fat gain; and the feeling of distress about self- perceived weight/shape. BN is described as recurrent episodes of binge eating, recurrent improper compen- satory behaviours to prevent weight gain and excessive preoccupation with body image (shape/weight). Binge eating involves the consumption of larger amounts of food within a short period of time than most people consume within the same time period. A diagnosis of BED is based on the recurrence of binge eating epi- sodes at least once a week for 3 months (3). Eating dis- orders are observed in 5-10% of young people (4). Ap- proximately 90% of eating disorder cases are observed