Associations Between Physical Activity, Body Dissatisfaction, and Mindful Eating in Turkish Adults

This cross-sectional study examined the associations among physical activity, body dissatisfaction, and mindful eating in adults, while accounting for the influence of demographic and socioeconomic factors.

A total of 9838 adults (60.6% women, 39.4% men; mean age 36.3 ± 16.0 years) were included in the study using a convenience sampling method (women: 34.4 ± 15.1 years; men: 39.2 ± 16.9 years). Physical activity was measured with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF), body dissatisfaction was measured with the Stunkard Figure Rating Scale (FRS), and mindful eating was assessed with the Four Facet Mindful Eating Scale (FFaMES). Spearman correlation, Kruskal-Wallis, and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted.

Physical activity showed weak but statistically significant positive correlations with body dissatisfaction and mindful eating, while no association was observed between body dissatisfaction and mindful eating. After adjustment for demographic and socioeconomic variables, body dissatisfaction and mindful eating remained associated with physical activity, although the explained variance was small. Participants with moderate physical activity levels had higher mindful eating scores than those with low activity.

The findings indicate weak associations among physical activity, body dissatisfaction, and mindful eating among adults. Although statistically significant, these associations were small, suggesting that these psychosocial factors represent only a limited component of the broader determinants of physical activity behaviour.