Could emotional eating act as a mediator between sleep quality and food intake in female students?

Abstract

Background Poor sleep quality is associated with overeating and unhealthy eating. The aim of this study was to investigate if emotional eating could act as a mediator between poor sleep quality and energy/macronutrients intake. Methods This cross-sectional study was performed with 150 female school-age students, 13 to 19 years old, living in Tabriz, Iran. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Emotional Eating Questionnaire (EEQ) were completed for data collection. Intake of energy and proportion of calorie from carbohydrate, protein, and fat were evaluated by a semi-quantified food frequency questionnaire. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results The mean (SD) of age, weight, and BMI were not statistically different between poor and good sleepers. The mean (SD) of PSQI score was 6.73 ± 2.88, with 75.3% of the participants experiencing poor sleep quality (PSQI> 5). Students with poor sleep quality had increased energy intake and their proportion of calorie intake from fat was higher ( p <0.05). There was a positive correlation between poor sleep quality and emotional eating; however, emotional eating did not mediate the relationship between poor sleep quality and energy/macronutrients intake. Conclusions Emotional eating did not act as a mediator between poor sleep quality and energy/macronutrients intake in female students. However, poor sleep quality directly influenced energy intake and the proportion of calorie intake from fat as well as emotional eating.

Association between stress and dietary habits, emotional eating behavior and insomnia of middle-aged men and women in Seoul and Gyeonggi

“…Before the study, the validity and reliability of the questionnaire were established. The Cronbach's alpha was 0.78 in the previous study [ 15 ] and 0.87 in this study.…”

Nutritional Behavior During COVID-19 Pandemic: The Effect of Fear and Sleep Quality on Emotional Eating

“…According to this study, sleep quality alone affected emotional eating in a rate of 8.3%. There are studies in literature before the pandemic showing that poor sleep quality was found to be associated with emotional eating [17][18][19] and unhealthy dietary behaviors [45], on the other hand, a study conducted on the women during the COVID-19 pandemic stated that sleep quality did not affect emotional eating [44].…”

“…The rst assumption is that the negative emotions motivate the individual to eat whilst the second assumption is that the act of eating lowers the intensity of negative emotions [15,16]. It is reported that there was a negative relationship between emotional eating and sleep quality [17][18][19] and positive relationship between emotional eating and anxiety and depression [20]. It is also reported that there is no direct relationship between emotional eating and fear of COVID-19, and that depression mediates the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and emotional eating [21].…”

Ti̇p 1 Di̇yabetli̇ Adölesan Bi̇reylerde Uyku Kali̇tesi̇ Ve Beslenme Durumu Arasindaki̇ İli̇şki̇ni̇n Beli̇rlenmesi̇

“…Özellikle çocukluk ve ergenlik döneminde uyku alışkanlığının kazanılması önemlidir. Çünkü bu dönemde kazanılan alışkanlıklar yaşam boyu devam eder (6). Çocuklarda, kaliteli ve yeterli uyku daha fazla dikkat, öğrenme yeteneği, hafıza, yaşam kalitesi, zihinsel ve fiziksel sağlık gibi olumlu sonuçlar ile ilişkilendirilmiştir (7).…”

“…Uyku kalitesi ve süresinin azalması, çocuklarda hem besin alımının hem de yağ ve/veya rafine karbonhidrat içeren yiyecekleri tüketme eğiliminin artışına neden olmaktadır. Sağlıksız beslenme davranışlarının oluşması da obezite riskinin artışı ile sonuçlanmaktadır (6). Uyku süresinin azalması ile değişen metabolik hormonlar, kişide subjektif açlık ve iştah artışı ile sonuçlanmaktadır.…”