Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Feb 13:12:e19.
doi: 10.1017/jns.2023.11. eCollection 2023.

Emotional and intuitive eating: an emerging approach to eating behaviours related to obesity

Feride Ayyıldız  1 , Gamze Akbulut  1 , Merve Şeyda Karaçil Ermumcu  2 , Nilüfer Acar Tek  1
Affiliations

Emotional and intuitive eating: an emerging approach to eating behaviours related to obesity

Feride Ayyıldız et al. J Nutr Sci. .

Abstract

Emotional and intuitive eating are associated with obesity. In the present study, it was aimed to evaluate the relationship between intuitive eating and emotional eating behaviours in adults with anthropometric measurements of obesity-related disease risk and gender. Body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist, hip and neck circumferences were taken. Emotional Eater Questionnaire and Intuitive Eating Scale-2 were used for the assessment of eating behaviour. A total of 3742 adult individuals (56⋅8 % (n 2125) female and (n 1617) male) were participated voluntarily. The total score and subscales of EEQ were higher in females than males (P < 0⋅001). The scores of the IES-2 subscales and the total score were higher in males than females (P < 0⋅05). In metabolic risk classification according to waist and neck circumference, EEQ scale scores (except type of food) were higher in the metabolic risk group, while IES-2 (except body-food congruence in neck circumference) scores were higher in the non-risk group (P < 0⋅05). While there was a positive correlation between EEQ and body weight, BMI, waist circumference, waist-height ratio, a negative correlation was found between age and waist-hip ratio. There was a negative correlation between IES-2 and body weight, BMI, waist-height ratio, waist-hip ratio. In addition, a negative correlation was found between IES-2 and EEQ. Intuitive eating and emotional eating differ by gender. Anthropometric measures and metabolic disease risk is associated with emotional eating and intuitive eating. Interventions to increase intuitive and decreasing emotional eating behaviour can be effective in preventing both obesity and obesity-related diseases.

Keywords: Anthropometric measurement; Emotional eating; Intuitive eating; Obesity; Obesity-related diseases.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Lazarevich I, Camacho MEI, del Consuelo Velázquez-Alva M, et al. (2016) Relationship among obesity, depression, and emotional eating in young adults. Appetite 107, 639–644. - PubMed
    1. Ashwell M & Gibson S (2016) Waist-to-height ratio as an indicator of ‘early health risk’: simpler and more predictive than using a ‘matrix’ based on BMI and waist circumference. BMJ Open 6, e010159. - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization (2011) Waist Circumference and Waist-Hip Ratio: Report of a WHO Expert Consultation. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO Document Production Services.
    1. Zhou J-y, Ge H, Zhu M-f, et al. (2013) Neck circumference as an independent predictive contributor to cardio-metabolic syndrome. Cardiovasc Diabetol 12, 1–7. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases (2002) Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases: Report of a Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation, Geneva. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.