Evaluation of the effect of exam anxiety on hedonic hunger, night eating syndrome and diet quality in nutrition and dietetics students

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of exam anxiety on hedonic hunger, night eating syndrome, and diet quality in Nutrition and Dietetics students. Method: The study was conducted between November 2023 and April 2024 among 336 students over the age of 18 years, studying in the Departments of Nutrition and Dietetics at three state universities located on the Anatolian side of Istanbul. The students' demographic characteristics, eating habits, levels of exam anxiety, hedonic hunger status, night eating syndrome status, and diet quality were evaluated through questionnaires. Additionally 24-hour dietary recall and anthropometric measurements were taken. Results: Among the students who participated in the study, 92.9% (n=312) were female and 7.1% (n=24) were male; the mean age was 20.7±2.4 years. A weak but statistically significant positive correlation was found between exam stress scores and night eating syndrome scores (r=0.205; p<0.001), total hedonic hunger scores (r=0.153; p=0.005), as well as the "food availability" and "tasting food" sub-dimension scores of hedonic hunger (r=0.152; p=0.005 and r=0.156; p=0.004, respectively). Total hedonic hunger scores were found to be significantly higher in females compared to males (p<0.001). No significant relationship was found between exam stress and the total scores of the Diet Quality Index and the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (p>0.05) Conclusion: In this study, exam stress levels were found to be significantly associated with night eating syndrome and hedonic hunger.. The findings suggest that students' eating behaviors may be influenced by psychological factors during exam periods. In particular, the increase in hedonic hunger indicates that students may become more sensitive to external cues and food availability. Therefore, it is considered important to implement intervention programs that support healthy eating behaviors during exam periods. Key words: Exam anxiety, hedonic hunger, night eating syndrome, diet quality, university students