Investigation of the effect of emotional eating habits on obesity

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between emotional eating and obesity by examining the effect of emotional eating situations of obese and normal individuals on obesity. For this purpose, obese and normal weight individuals were selected as the control group and the results in both groups were examined. This study was conducted with a total of 60 adult individuals between the ages of 18 and 65, who voluntarily participated in the research between November 2023 and January 2024, and were considered obese and normal based on their body mass index (BMI) status. A survey form containing demographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, physical activity levels, disease status, 'Three-Factor Eating Scale (TFEQ)', 'Motivation to Consume Delicious Foods Scale (LBTMS)', 'Emotional Eating Scale (EESQ)' was given to individuals; It was carried out by face-to-face interview. According to the results obtained; The cognitive restriction score was found to be higher than the uncontrolled eating and emotional eating scores. Cognitive restriction, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating scores of obese individuals were found to be higher than normal weight individuals. No statistical significance was found between the uncontrolled eating, emotional eating, and cognitive restriction scores of obese individuals and the scores of normal weight individuals. (p>0.05) In our study, there is no statistical difference between the emotional eating tendencies of obese individuals and normal weight individuals. Emotional eating tendencies are observed in both groups. (p>0.05) It has been stated that emotional eating is related to BMI, but it has been found that normal weight individuals exhibit emotional eating behavior close to obese individuals. In this study, it was concluded that there was no significant difference in the effect of emotional eating in both obese individuals and normal weight individuals, and that obese and normal weight individuals had emotional eating tendencies.