Emotional eating behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

Background & aims: The study aimed to evaluate emotional eating tendency of Turkish individuals during COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: The study comprised an online questionnaire and it was conducted from August to September 2020. The survey was distributed through social networks.

Results: A total of 1626 adults have been included in the study, aged between 18 and 65 years (69.6% females and 30.4% males). The average BMI of all participants was 24.4 ± 4.7 kg/m², 6% were underweight, and 11.6% were obese. A total of 32.7% of the participants had an increase in appetite and 34.4% had a weight gain. It was found that most of the participants (75.7%) were emotional eaters at different levels. Emotional eating was more common in obese people (43.5%) than normal weight (33.5%) and underweight (18.4%) people. It was examined the increasing food intake according to the BMI, the obese increased the consumption of fresh vegetables, fruits, pastries, and, eggs; underweight increased the consumption of fresh vegetables and fruits, milk and, eggs. As in other countries, a weight gain was observed in the individuals. However, the participants resorted to emotional eating to cope with negative emotions such as depression, anxiety, and stress caused by the pandemic.

Conclusions: In this study, it has been provided preliminary data that can be used in future studies to determine the emotional eating behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.