The Relationship Between Mindful Eating and Mental Well-Being among Sports Science Students in UITM Sarawak: A Validation of Instruments

Siti Nur Aisyah Mazlan; Ani Mazlina Dewi Mohamed

Mindful eating practices could enhance one's mental well-being and increase one's enjoyment of food as well as their sense of satisfaction with their bodies. Hence, mindful eating was positively related to mental well-being, implying that those who were more mindful eaters also had higher levels of mental well-being. However, no previous research had directly applied "mindful eating" to the eating habits of sports science students and their relationship to mental well-being. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the validity of the instrument in assessing the relationship between mindful eating and mental well-being among sports science students. There were 3 sections of the questionnaire that involved demographic information, Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ) and Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS), which were validated by 5 experts. The content validity index (CVI) was determined to validate each question. The findings stated that all the questionnaires were interpreted as appropriate since the values of the I-CVI scores ranged between 0.8 to 1 and S-CVI/UA was 1. This study conveyed the good validity of the questionnaire, making it applicable in determining the relationship between mindful eating and mental well-being among sports science students in UiTM Sarawak.

Abdul Basir, S. M., Abdul Manaf, Z., Ahmad, M., Abdul Kadir, N. B. Y., Ismail, W. N. K., Mat Ludin, A. F., & Shahar, S. (2021). Reliability and validity of the Malay Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ-M) among overweight and obese adults. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(3), 1021.
Alizadeh, M., & Ghabili, K. (2008). Health related lifestyle among the Iranian medical students. Res Biol Sci, 3(1), 4-9.
Behan, C. (2020). The benefits of meditation and mindfulness practices during times of crisis such as COVID-19. Irish journal of psychological medicine, 37(4), 256-258.
Beiter, R., Nash, R., McCrady, M., Rhoades, D., Linscomb, M., Clarahan, M., & Sammut, S. (2015). The prevalence and correlates of depression, anxiety, and stress in a sample of college students. Journal of affective disorders, 173, 90-96.
Bidhan, A. (2010). Questionnaire design. In A Paper Prepared for a Training Workshop in Research Methodology Organised by Centre for Post Graduate Studies Nepal Engineering College in Collaboration with University Grant Commission Nepal, Pulchok.
Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of personality and social psychology, 84(4), 822.
Clarke, A., Friede, T., Putz, R., Ashdown, J., Martin, S., Blake, A., ... & Stewart-Brown, S. (2011). Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS): validated for teenage school students in England and Scotland. A mixed methods assessment. BMC public health, 11, 1-9.
Framson, C., Kristal, A. R., Schenk, J. M., Littman, A. J., Zeliadt, S., & Benitez, D. (2009). Development and validation of the mindful eating questionnaire. Journal of the American dietetic Association, 109(8), 1439-1444.
Grant, J. S., & Davis, L. L. (1997). Selection and use of content experts for instrument development. Research in nursing & health, 20(3), 269-274.
Hanis, N. A., Hasan, A. R. A., & Khalid, N. K. (2023). The Development and Validation of A Questionnaire on The Relationship between Religious Life and Life Satisfaction among Secondary School Students in The Manjung District. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 13(6), 349 – 358.
Hazmi, H., Ishak, W. R. W., Jalil, R. A., Hua, G. S., Hamid, N. F., Haron, R., ... & Musa, K. I. (2015). Traditional cardiovascular risk-factors among healthcare workers in Kelantan, Malaysia. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health, 46(3), 504-511.
Huang, T. T. K., Harris, K. J., Lee, R. E., Nazir, N., Born, W., & Kaur, H. (2003). Assessing overweight, obesity, diet, and physical activity in college students. Journal of American college health, 52(2), 83-86.
Jun, E. M., & Choi, S. B. (2014). Obesity, body image, depression, and weight-control behaviour among female university students in Korea. Journal of cancer prevention, 19(3), 240.
Katterman, S. N., Kleinman, B. M., Hood, M. M., Nackers, L. M., & Corsica, J. A. (2014). Mindfulness meditation as an intervention for binge eating, emotional eating, and weight loss: a systematic review. Eating behaviors, 15(2), 197-204.
Kiefer, I., Rathmanner, T., & Kunze, M. (2005). Eating and dieting differences in men and women. Journal of Men's Health and Gender, 2(2), 194-201.
Kremmyda, L. S., Papadaki, A., Hondros, G., Kapsokefalou, M., & Scott, J. A. (2008). Differentiating between the effect of rapid dietary acculturation and the effect of living away from home for the first time, on the diets of Greek students studying in Glasgow. Appetite, 50(2-3), 455-463.
Kumaraswamy, N. (2013). Academic stress, anxiety and depression among college students: A brief review. International review of social sciences and humanities, 5(1), 135-143.
Lynn, M. R. (1986). Determination and quantification of content validity. Nursing research, 35(6), 382-386.
Mantzios, M. (2021). (Re) defining mindful eating into mindful eating behaviour to advance scientific enquiry. Nutrition and Health, 27(4), 367-371.
Mantzios, M., Egan, H., & Asif, T. (2020). A randomised experiment evaluating the mindful raisin practice as a method of reducing chocolate consumption during and after a mindless activity. Journal of Cognitive Enhancement, 4, 250-257.
Mantzios, M., Skillett, K., & Egan, H. (2020). Examining the effects of two mindful eating exercises on chocolate consumption. European Journal of Health Psychology.
Mazlan, S.N.A & Mohamed, A.M.D (2023). Title of Paper or Proceedings, The 9th ASEAN Council of Physical Education and Sport (ACPES) Conference 2023, Mahasarakham University Thailand, 30-1 November 2023, Maha Sarakham, Thailand.
Morrison, K. M., Shin, S., Tarnopolsky, M., & Taylor, V. H. (2015). Association of depression & health related quality of life with body composition in children and youth with obesity. Journal of affective disorders, 172, 18-23.
Moy, F. M., Surin, J., Ismail, Y., Mahad, R., Tie, F. H., & Wan Ismail, W. M. A. (2009). Breakfast skipping and its associated factors among undergraduates in a public university in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian journal of nutrition, 15(2), 165-174.
Mustafa, J., Salleh, N. M., Isa, Z. M., & Ghazi, H. F. (2013). Overweight problem among primary health care workers in Suburban District of Hulu Langat, Selangor, Malaysia. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition, 12(3), 291.
Newman, I., Lim, J., & Pineda, F. (2013). Content validity using a mixed methods approach: Its application and development through the use of a table of specifications methodology. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 7(3), 243-260.
Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2006). The content validity index: are you sure you know what's being reported? Critique and recommendations. Research in nursing & health, 29(5), 489-497.
Sanada, K., Montero-Marin, J., Alda Diez, M., Salas-Valero, M., Pérez-Yus, M. C., Morillo, H., ... & Garcia-Campayo, J. (2016). Effects of mindfulness-based interventions on salivary cortisol in healthy adults: a meta-analytical review. Frontiers in physiology, 7, 471.
Tennant, R., Joseph, S., & Stewart-Brown, S. (2007). The Affectometer 2: a measure of positive mental health in UK populations. Quality of Life Research, 16, 687-695.
Wahab, N. A. A., Hamid, N. A., Hashim, S. N. I., Meerangani, K. A., Hamid, M. F. A., & Atan, M. A. (2023). Islamic Tourism Based on Maqasid Syariah As A Mental Well-Being Therapy: Preliminary Study Highlights. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 13(8), 264 – 277.
WHO, E. (2005). Mental health: Facing the challenges, building solutions. In Report from the WHO European Ministerial Conference. WHO.
Wynd, C. A., Schmidt, B., & Schaefer, M. A. (2003). Two quantitative approaches for estimating content validity. Western journal of nursing research, 25(5), 508-518.
Yaghmaie, F. J. A. M. (2003). Content validity and its estimation. Journal of medical education, 3(1).
Yahia, N., Achkar, A., Abdallah, A., & Rizk, S. (2008). Eating habits and obesity among Lebanese university students. Nutrition journal, 7(1), 1-6.
Zervos, K., Koletsi, M., Mantzios, M., Skopeliti, N., Tsitsas, G., & Naska, A. (2022). An eight-week mindful eating program applied in a Mediterranean population with overweight or obesity: the EATT intervention study. Psychological Reports, 125(2), 1011-1040.

(Mazlan & Mohamed, 2024)
Mazlan, S. N. A., & Mohamed, A. M. D. (2024). The Relationship Between Mindful Eating and Mental Well-Being among Sports Science Students in UITM Sarawak: A Validation of Instruments. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 14(2), 744–761.

Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seenavc at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Open Access Journal

The Relationship Between Mindful Eating and Mental Well-Being among Sports Science Students in UITM Sarawak: A Validation of Instruments

Siti Nur Aisyah Mazlan, Ani Mazlina Dewi Mohamed

Further Information

Our Journals

Get intouch with us