The relationship between emotional eating and depression, anxiety, and stress in Turkish adults with obesity

BACKGROUND: The number of individuals with obesity is increasing rapidly. Türkiye is the country with the highest obesity rates in Europe. The aim of the present study was to assess the relations between emotional eating, and depression, anxiety and stress in adults with obesity. METHOD: The study was carried out as a descriptive and correlational design. The sample of the study consisted of a total of 200 adults with obesity who applied to the dietitian outpatient clinic. The participants filled out the Information Form, the Emotional Eater Questionnaire (EEQ-TR), and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Relations between variables have been inspected. RESULTS: The total score of DASS-21 was positively significantly and weakly correlated with the total score of the EEQ-TR (p < 0.01; r = 0.338). The higher the mean score of DASS-21, the higher the level of obesity (F = 4.059 p = 0.019). It was determined that the DASS-21 score explained 11.8% of the variance in the mean EEQ-TR score (ß:0.344; p < 0.001). Income status was found to be related to depression, anxiety, and stress, while no relationship was observed with emotional eating status. Income status was found to be related to depression, anxiety, and stress, while no relationship was observed with emotional eating status. In our study, there was no statistically significant difference between emotional eating and body mass index, although the average EEQ-TR score increased as the BMI class increased. The emotional eating scores were higher in younger participants, and the difference between groups was significant (F = 13.354 p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We determined that emotional eating is positively and weakly correlated to depression, anxiety, and stress, and the mean DASS-21 score in adults with obesity in Türkiye. As the level of obesity increases in individuals, the average DASS-21 score also rises.