Gambaran Eating Self-Efficacy pada Mahasiswa Prodi Kedokteran Universitas Jambi

Eating self-efficacy is an individual’s belief in their ability to control eating behavior, particularly in situations that may trigger overeating. These situations include negative emotions, food availability, physical discomfort, social pressure, and positive activities. In early adulthood, individuals begin to take responsibility for their own food choices and face influences from their social environment. Medical education involves a heavy academic workload, making students vulnerable to stress that may affect eating behavior. Research on eating self-efficacy among medical students, particularly at Universitas Jambi, remains limited. This descriptive study with a cross-sectional design was conducted among students of the Medical Study Program at Universitas Jambi. A total of 96 respondents were selected using quota sampling. Eating self-efficacy, defined here as domain-specific self-efficacy, namely confidence in resisting the urge to eat across various situations, was measured using the Indonesian version of the Weight Efficacy Lifestyle Questionnaire (WEL). Data were analyzed univariately and presented as frequency distributions and percentages. Of the 96 respondents, 73 (76%) had low eating self-efficacy and 23 (24%) had high eating self-efficacy. Thus, these descriptive findings indicate that most students of the Medical Study Program at Universitas Jambi had low eating self-efficacy.