The relationship between eating behavior triggered with emotions and mood disorder symptoms and personality characteristics in male and female university

The aim of this study was to explain the relationship between emotionally triggered eating behavior and mood disorder symptoms and personality characteristics in male and female university students. The sample of the research consisted of 320 university students from various departments of 3 different universities who were randomly selected by easy sampling method in Istanbul, aged between 17-25 on a voluntary basis. Participants were given a sociodemographic questionnaire prepared by the researcher, an emotional appetite questionnaire, a mood disorder scale, and a five factor personality scale as the data collection tools. According to the results, a statistically significant difference was found between emotional eating behavior and gender, body mass index and diet attitude behavior and perception of weight satisfaction. The most important findings were that participants had a significant relationship between harmoniousness, neuroticism, self-discipline, extroversion personality charecteristics and emotional eating. Harmoniousness was a significant predictor of personality charecteristics during anxiety-based emotional appetite and extrovert personality characteristics during positive emotional appetite. According to this study, emotional eating was observed in people who had harmoniousness and extrovert personality characteristics and was also a precursor to eating disorders and obesity. Since it was likely to affect health and psychology over time, more comprehensive research, identification of risk factors, implementation of health and protection programs, and awareness of the society is necassary.