Table 2.

Appetite changes and dietary and lifestyle behaviors.

		Total (n = 369)		Junior (n = 193)		Senior (n = 176)		χ 2	p
		Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Current appetite status compared to before going to university	Same	126	34.1	77	39.9	49	27.8	6.405∗	0.041∗
	Increased	127	34.4	58	30.1	69	39.2
	Decreased	116	31.4	58	30.1	58	33.0
Eating in response to exam related stress	No	152	41.2	71	36.8	81	46.0	4.135	0.242
	Yes	167	45.3	91	47.2	76	43.2
	Sometimes	44	11.9	27	14.0	17	9.7
	Rarely	6	1.6	4	2.1	2	1.1
Number of main meals	One	16	4.3	4	2.1	12	6.8	5.934	0.115
	Two	169	45.8	86	44.6	83	47.2
	Three	162	43.9	91	47.2	71	40.3
	More than three	22	6.0	12	6.2	10	5.7
Number of snacks	Zero	21	5.7	9	4.7	12	6.8	2.580	0.631
	One	111	30.1	62	32.1	49	27.8
	Two	133	36.0	68	35.2	65	36.9
	Three	63	17.1	30	15.5	33	18.8
	More than three	41	11.1	24	12.4	17	9.7
Types of snacks	No snacks	4	1.1	0	0.0	4	2.3	2.036	MC p = 0.156
	Fruit/fruit juice/yogurt	85	23.0	50	25.9	35	19.9
	Biscuits/cakes	16	4.3	12	6.2	4	2.3
	Fried potatoes	6	1.6	3	1.6	3	1.7
	Sweets/chocolate/cake	70	19.0	38	19.7	32	18.2
	Combinations	181	49.1	86	44.6	95	54.0
	Other	7	1.9	4	2.1	3	1.7
Regular breakfast intake	Yes	227	61.5	125	64.8	102	58.0	1.805	0.179
	No	142	38.5	68	35.2	74	42.0
Type of preferred breakfast	Mankoush or pastries	329	89.2	179	92.7	150	85.2	7.605	0.099
	Biscuits	7	1.9	1	0.5	6	3.4
	Cereal	8	2.2	3	1.6	5	2.8
	Sandwich	13	3.5	4	2.1	9	5.1
	Other	12	3.3	6	3.1	6	3.4
Preferred method for food preparation for main meals	Frying	127	34.4	70	36.3	57	32.4	0.831	0.660
	Boiling	91	24.7	48	24.9	43	24.4
	Grilling	151	40.9	75	38.9	76	43.2
Consumption of energy drinks	Never	283	76.7	141	73.1	142	80.7	6.579	0.142
	Rarely	34	9.2	19	9.8	15	8.5
	1-2 times per week	42	11.4	24	12.4	18	10.2
	2-3 times per week	7	1.9	6	3.1	1	0.6
	More than 3 times/week	3	0.8	3	1.6	0	0.0
Eating for comfort	Yes	209	56.6	106	54.9	103	58.5	0.486	0.486
	No	160	43.4	87	45.1	73	41.5
Intake of coffee or tea directly after meals	Yes	145	39.3	82	42.5	63	35.8	1.728	0.189
	No	224	60.7	111	57.5	113	64.2
Cravings for high fat/sugar foods	Never	250	67.8	129	66.8	121	68.8	1.332	0.856
	Once/month	38	10.3	23	11.9	15	8.5
	2–4 times	32	8.7	17	8.8	15	8.5
	2-3 times	28	7.6	14	7.3	14	8.0
	4 times	21	5.7	10	5.2	11	6.3
Preferred activities during free time	Walking	38	10.3	14	7.3	24	13.6	9.639∗	0.047∗
	Watching TV/listening to music	250	67.8	127	65.8	123	69.9
	Practicing a sport	49	13.3	30	15.5	19	10.8
	Shopping	22	6.0	14	7.3	8	4.5
	Other	10	2.7	8	4.1	2	1.1
Screen time	1 h-2 h a day	149	40.4	83	43.0	66	37.5	1.611	0.657
	3 h-4 h a day	136	36.9	70	36.3	66	37.5
	5 h-6 h a day	48	13.0	22	11.4	26	14.8
	More than 6 h a day	36	9.8	18	9.3	18	10.2
Eating meals while watching TV or at the computer	Yes	219	59.3	129	66.8	90	51.1	9.409∗	0.002∗
	No	150	40.7	64	33.2	86	48.9
Smoking status	Never	284	77.0	152	78.8	132	75.0	4.074	0.254
	Previous smoker	3	0.8	0	0.0	3	1.7
	Occasionally	43	11.7	20	10.4	23	13.1
	Regular smoker	39	10.6	21	10.9	18	10.2

^∗Statistically significant at p ≤ 0.05.

MC: Monte Carlo for Chi square test.