Social media–related dietary behaviors and integrated behavioral model constructs among university students: A cross-sectional study

Background Social media exposes young adults to nutrition information, food marketing, peer norms, and health-related content. However, evidence on social media–related dietary behaviors and their links to Integrated Behavioral Model (IBM) constructs among Saudi university students is limited. This study examined these behaviors, IBM constructs, and factors associated with the Dietary Habits score among King Khalid University (KKU) students. Methods A cross-sectional study included 385 KKU undergraduates, recruited through convenience sampling between February and April 2026. Participants completed the Arabic IBM-based Social Media and Dietary Habits Questionnaire. Analyses included descriptive statistics, Spearman’s correlation, independent-samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc tests, and multiple linear regression. Regression coefficient p-values were adjusted using the Holm–Bonferroni procedure across the 32 coefficient tests. Results The mean dietary habits score was 12.06 ± 4.17. All IBM constructs were positively correlated with dietary habits (p < 0.001). Exploratory comparisons showed that Dietary Habits scores differed by gender, marital status, BMI, chronic illness, physical activity, smoking, sleep duration, healthy diet, and social media use. The regression model explained 57.6% of the variance in dietary scores (adjusted R² = 0.537). After Holm adjustment, higher scores were linked to attitude (B = 0.199, 95% CI: 0.079–0.319; adjusted p = 0.034), physical activity (B = 1.295, 95% CI: 0.536–2.054; adjusted p = 0.026), and social media use of 1–2 hours/day (B = 2.005, 95% CI: 0.921–3.089; adjusted p = 0.010) or 3–4 hours/day (B = 1.220, 95% CI: 0.511–1.929; adjusted p = 0.024), compared with >4 hours/day. Conclusions IBM constructs were positively interrelated and associated with social media–related dietary behaviors. Positive attitudes, physical activity, and moderate daily social media use were associated with higher Dietary Habits scores. These findings suggest that behavioral beliefs and lifestyle context may be relevant in the design of digital nutrition programs for university students.