Assessment of Picky Eating, Emotional Eating and Body Perception in Healthy Individuals

Abstract

Aim: This study investigated the association between choosy eating, emotional eating, and body image in healthy individuals. Materials and methods: This study was conducted with 639 people [385(60.3%) women and 254 (39.7%) men] aged 18–60 years through online surveys. The Stunkard Figure Rating Scale assessed how people see their bodies. Adult Picky Eating Questionnaire (APEQ) was used to determine picky eating behaviors and attitudes. The Emotional Eater Scale was also used to assess eating behaviors. Anthropometric measurements of body weight and height were taken on a self-reported basis. One-way ANOVA was used to analyze the differences between the groups. Results: While 23.8% of the participants were satisfied with their body image, 76.2% were unsatisfied with their body image (61.5% wanted to lose body weight, 14.7% wanted to gain body weight). Body image dissatisfaction was found to be associated with emotional eating and its sub-dimensions (p<0.05). According to the body mass index (BMI) classification, a statistically significant difference was discovered between the total score of picky eating and the total score of emotional eating between underweight and obese people (p<0.05). Conclusion: Picky eating is associated with emotional eating, body weight, and body perception. It is thought that there is a need to evaluate depression, anxiety, stress, and quality of life parameters in future face-to-face studies.

Keywords

• picky eating
• emotional eating
• body image

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