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Does the introduction explain the objective of the research presented in the preprint?

Yes

In the introduction, it talks about how the study seeks to explore and investigate how detrimental dietary behaviors such as; irregular meal timings, skipping breakfast, consuming heavy evening meals, substituting meals with snacks, and late-night snacking impact sleep quality among international university students. A suggestion to rephrase the first two paragraphs could be: Poor sleep quality (SQ) is a major public health concern, linked to increased morbidity, mortality, impaired cognition, and higher healthcare costs.” [1]. “It impairs cognition, worsens physical and mental health, and increases healthcare costs.” [2,3]. Sleep disturbance, including insomnia, is more common among young adults—particularly university students—than in the general population [4–6]. Good SQ is defined as the individual's overall evaluation of their sleep based on factors, such as sleep efficiency, latency, duration, and the amount of wakefulness after sleep inception [7]. Validated tools such as the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) are available to measure these characteristics [7,8].

Are the methods well-suited for this research?

Somewhat appropriate

In section 2.6.1.(Anthropometric Assessment ) Please verify that the Standard WHO classification uses “≥” not “>” for obesity class III

Are the conclusions supported by the data?

Highly supported

The conclusion can be rephrased as follows: This study demonstrated that unhealthy dietary habits, particularly consuming heavy evening meals, replacing meals with snacks, and a short meal‐to‐bedtime interval, are significantly associated with poor sleep quality among international university students. The findings accentuate the importance of promoting healthier dietary habits and consistent meal timing to improve sleep quality and overall, well‑being in this population.

Are the data presentations, including visualizations, well-suited to represent the data?

Highly appropriate and clear

How clearly do the authors discuss, explain, and interpret their findings and potential next steps for the research?

Somewhat clearly

Is the preprint likely to advance academic knowledge?

Highly likely

Would it benefit from language editing?

Yes

Spellings such as of the word behaviour throughout the document. Parentheses should be removed to improve the flow in writing for example in section 2.6 it could be rephrased as: Sociodemographic characteristics included age, sex, marital status, nationality, residential setting, academic faculty, academic level and year of study, lifestyle factors included alcohol and coffee consumption, smoking status, perceived stress levels, physical activity, and napping habits. Participants also self‐reported their height and weight. Dietary behaviours assessed usual mealtime regularity, breakfast skipping, consumption of late‐night snacks (defined as after 10 PM), replacement of meals with snacks, tendency to consume heavier evening meals compared to daytime, and the typical time interval between the last meal and bedtime. In section 2.6.3. (Eating Habits Assessment) The last paragraph can be rephrased: To clarify, participants were informed that snacks included calorie‐rich items such as chips, sweets, baked goods, processed meats, cheeses, and beverages, excluding water, diet drinks, tea, and plain coffee. Responses were recorded as either ‘yes’ or ‘no’. In addition, they were asked to report the interval between their last meal of the day and bedtime, selecting from predefined categories: 0–2 hours, or ≥3 hours. In section 2.6.4. (Coding and Categorization of Variables) the 3rd and last paragraph can be rewritten as follows: Sleep disturbance (assessed by the frequency of various sleep‐related problems such as waking up at night, breathing issues, or experiencing bad dreams that interfere with sleep quality) was categorized as adequate if <10 out of 27, and inadequate if ≥10.” The need for sleep medication was deemed adequate with no or low usage (scores of 0 or 1) if participants reported using it less than once per week, and inadequate with medium or high usage (scores of 2 or 3) if used once per week or more. Daytime dysfunction was classified as adequate (scores 0–1, indicating no or minor problems) and inadequate for scores of 2 or 3 for medium or high levels (indicating the problem was sometimes or very frequently an issue). Finally, the time interval between the last meal and bedtime was considered adequate if it was three hours or more, and inadequate if it was less than three hours [30]. In the Discussion section 4.2.3. (Irregular Meal Timing) in the 2nd last paragraph: You can delete: its cross-sectional methodology and replace it with its cross-sectional design.

Would you recommend this preprint to others?

Yes, but it needs to be improved

Grammar and rephrasing of some paragraphs.

Is it ready for attention from an editor, publisher or broader audience?

Yes, after minor changes

Competing interests

The author declares that they have no competing interests.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The author declares that they did not use generative AI to come up with new ideas for their review.