Flavoured Beverages and Obesity Risk Among Public University Students: A Nutritional Analysis at UTHM Pagoh

Abstract

Obesity among young adults is an increasingly prevalent public health issue and is often associated with the consumption of flavoured beverages or sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), which contribute excessive liquid calories. Although the relationship between SSBs and obesity has been widely discussed in the international literature, micro-contextual studies within the campus environment of Malaysian public universities remain limited. This study aims to identify the dominant types of flavoured beverages, purchasing factors and the relationship between flavoured beverage purchasing factors and students’ body mass index (BMI) at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), Pagoh Campus. This cross-sectional quantitative study involved 300 students selected through simple random sampling, with data collected using a digital questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics and regression in SPSS. The findings indicate a high inclination toward flavoured beverages (M = 3.74), particularly tea- and coffee-flavoured beverages (M = 3.89), while the primary purchasing factor was the desire to feel refreshed (M = 4.20). In terms of BMI, 49% of respondents were in the normal category, while 34% were in the overweight category. Regression analysis showed a significant relationship between flavoured beverage purchasing factors and BMI (p < 0.001), but with a small effect (Adjusted R² = 0.082), indicating that obesity is influenced by various other factors. This study contributes important local empirical evidence for the development of data-driven campus health interventions to reduce obesity risk among university students. From an ethical perspective, data collection was conducted voluntarily through informed consent at the beginning of the Google Form; respondents’ confidentiality and anonymity were maintained in accordance with the principles of human research ethics. However, the cross-sectional design limits causal inference and the temporal direction between flavoured beverage purchasing factors and BMI cannot be ascertained. Self-reported measures of beverage preferences/motivations and BMI may introduce recall bias and social desirability bias and may lead to misclassification of obesity status. Therefore, the small effect finding (Adjusted R² = 0.082) supports the need for a more ecological multivariable model incorporating physical activity, overall diet, sleep, stress, socioeconomic status, and the campus food environment.