Examination of the Relationships Between Nutritional Knowledge Levels and Nutritional and Exercise Behaviors of University Students

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between university students' nutritional knowledge levels and their nutritional and exercise behaviours, and to evaluate the results. The sample of the study consists of a total of 502 male and female students enrolled at Osmaniye Korkut Ata University in the 2024-2025 academic year. The Nutrition-Exercise Behaviour Scale was developed by Yurt and Yıldız (2016). This scale is a 5-point Likert scale with a total of 45 items. In the original study of the scale, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was found to be 0.85. In the sub-dimensions of the scale, Cronbach's alpha values were found to be 0.61 for Psychological (Dependent) Eating Behaviour, 0.62 for Healthy Eating-Exercise Behaviour, 0.68 for Unhealthy Eating-Exercise Behaviour, and 0.73 for Meal Regularity (Yurt & Yıldız, 2016). Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk normality tests were performed to test the normality of the total scores of BEDÖ and its subscales. For both tests, the p-values for both BEDÖ and its subscales were less than 0.05. As a result, no significant relationship was found between the total scores of the Psychological (Addictive) Eating Behaviour subscale and the Healthy Eating-Exercise Behaviour and Meal Schedule subscales. However, there was a strong positive relationship between the total scores of the Psychological (Addictive) Eating Behaviour subscale and the Unhealthy Eating-Exercise Behaviour subscale. An individual's Psychological (Addictive) Eating Behaviour and Unhealthy Nutrition-Exercise Behaviour tend to increase or decrease simultaneously.