TITLE:
The Influence of Eating Habits and Self-Esteem on Overweight-Related Perception among TVET Students: A Gender Difference Analysis
AUTHORS:
Anita Md. Yasin, Nurul Aisyah Kamrozzaman
KEYWORDS:
Eating Habits, Self-Esteem, Overweight-Related Perception, TVET
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.14 No.8,
August
18,
2026
ABSTRACT: Overweight and obesity among adolescents in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions have become a pressing public health concern in Malaysia, where approximately one in three adolescents is classified as overweight or obese. Students enrolled in culinary, bakery, and pastry programmes are exposed daily to energy-dense food during practical training, a distinctive obesogenic environment that may shape both eating behaviour and psychological well-being. This study examined the influence of eating habits and self-esteem on overweight-related perception among TVET students and analysed whether these relationships differ by gender. A quantitative, correlational survey design was employed with a sample of 400 students from three vocational colleges in the Sabah Zone, comprising 202 male and 198 female respondents. Data were collected using an adapted, validated questionnaire measuring eating habits, self-esteem, and overweight-related perception on a five-point Likert scale, with body mass index derived from anthropometric measurement. The dependent variable was the continuous 12-item overweight-related perception score (possible range 12 to 60); multiple linear regression was therefore used to test the influence of eating habits, self-esteem, and gender, and gender by eating habits and gender by self-esteem product terms were entered in a second block to test moderation directly. Body mass index was classified using World Health Organization age- and sex-specific criteria and is reported descriptively. The three-predictor model was statistically significant and explained approximately 26.5% of the variance in overweight-related perception. Self-esteem emerged as the strongest predictor, followed by eating habits, while gender did not exert a statistically significant independent effect. Neither interaction term reached significance and the interaction block produced no significant increment in explained variance, indicating that the associations of eating habits and self-esteem with the outcome did not differ by gender. A supplementary between-subjects analysis likewise found no significant gender difference in mean scores. Because the self-esteem measure and the outcome both index weight-related self-appraisal, the magnitude of the self-esteem coefficient should be read with the possibility of construct overlap in mind. The findings indicate that psychological and behavioural factors, rather than gender alone, are associated with overweight-related perception in this population. The study contributes context-specific evidence from an under-researched vocational setting and offers implications for gender-neutral, school-based interventions that address eating behaviour and self-esteem simultaneously.