Investigation of the effects of stress level on hedonic hunger and emotional eating in adult individuals

This study was carried out to compare the stress level, hedonic hunger and emotional eating status of adult individuals reached via social media and the internet throughout Turkey and to evaluate the relationships between these factors. A total of 212 participants, 28 men and 184 women, were included in this study, whose research questionnaire was conducted online due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The study was planned as a cross-sectional study. The general information, dietary habits and anthropometric measurements of the participants were obtained through the online survey link. Stress Level, Perceived Stress Level (PSS); hedonic hunger, Power of Food Scale (PFS); Emotional eating was assessed with the Emotional Eating Scale (EES). The individuals participating in the study are %13,2 male and %86,8 female. While the mean age of the men participating in the study was 28,3±6,82 years, the mean age of the women was determined as 25,0±5,95 years. 25,5% of the individuals participating in this study cannot cope with stress. It was determined that 77,4% of the individuals participating in the study had a high hedonic hunger (M: 50%,F: 81,5%). The mean EES score of the individuals participating in the study was found to be 12,6±7,31. It was observed that there was a significant relationship between PFS and Body Mass Index (BMI) of the individuals participating in the study (p<0,001). However, a significant correlation was found between BMI and both PSS (p<0,05) and EES (p<0,001). It was determined that there was a difference between BMI classes in terms of getting up at night and eating something (p<0,05). Similarly, a statistically significant difference was found in terms of PSS (p<0.05), PFS (p<0,001) and EES (p<0,001) mean scores compared to BMI classes. Stress (p<0,05), hedonic hunger (p<0,001) and emotional eating (p<0,001) levels were found to be significantly higher in obese individuals. In addition; A significant relationship was also found between PSS and BFS (r=0,192, p<0,05). Similarly, a significant relationship was found between emotional eating and stress level in this study (p<0,001). Finally, a positive and significant relationship was found between emotional eating and hedonic hunger (r=0,594, p<0,001). Stress can cause obesity. For this reason, it is thought that knowing the relationship between stress-hedonic hunger and stress-emotional eating will benefit nutritionists. While creating individual nutrition programs, it is thought that improvements can be made by considering the effects of these concepts on nutrition. Key words: nutrition, hedonic hunger, stress, emotional eating