Table 2.
Stress and eating habits of Egyptian university students by gender.
| Variable | Females | Males | p Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | Mean (SD) | N | Mean (SD) | ||
| Perceived stress * | 1483 | 9.14 (3.06) | 1327 | 8.04 (2.85) | <0.001 |
| Food intake pattern score | |||||
| Fruit, and raw & cooked vegetable ‡ | 1483 | 8.63 (2.26) | 1327 | 8.82 (2.19) | 0.01 |
| Sweets, cookies and snacks ‡ | 1483 | 8.79 (2.48) | 1327 | 7.81 (2.27) | <0.001 |
| Healthy eating | |||||
| Subjective importance of healthy eating § | 1434 | 4.33 (1.05) | 1274 | 4.36 (0.99) | 0.77 |
| Dietary guideline adherence index || | 1483 | 3.05 (1.22) | 1327 | 3.02 (1.26) | 0.34 |
p values based on Wilcoxon ranks sum test; SD = standard deviation; * range 0–16, higher values correspond to more perceived stress; ‡ range: 3–15 each, scores increase as more is reported to be eaten; § range: 1–5, higher values indicate higher importance of healthy eating; || range: 1–8, each point increase presents an additional food group that exhibited adherence to dietary guidelines.