Michigan State University College of Nursing, 1355 Bogue St., C241, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA.
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Department of Communication, 615 McCallie Avenue, Dept 3003, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 37403, USA.
Appetite. 2021 Aug 1;163:105215. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105215. Epub 2021 Mar 25.
This study aimed to examine the relationships among perceived stress, eating self-regulation, emotional eating, and dietary intake among undergraduate college students. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 523 students recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk. All participants completed an online survey that assessed perceived stress, eating self-regulation, emotional eating, dietary intake, and demographics. The study sample was 47% female, 30% Hispanic, 8% Black, and 33% Asian. The overweight and obesity rate was 33%. Nearly 83% reported having moderate to high levels of stress, and over 80% had low to medium levels of eating self-regulation skills. On average, students consumed fruits and vegetables 2.42 times per day and sweets and soft drinks about once every other day. Perceived stress was positively correlated with emotional eating (β = 0.12, p = .005), and negatively correlated with eating self-regulation (β = -0.40, p < .001). Eating self-regulation partially mediated the relationship between perceived stress and emotional eating (β = 0.11, p < .001). Emotional eating was positively related to intake of sweets and soft drinks. Eating self-regulation was negatively related to sweet intake (β = -0.19, p < .001). Eating self-regulation and emotional eating fully mediated the relationship between perceived stress and sweet intake (β = 0.09, p < .001). Although warranting further investigation, this study's results emphasize the significant protective role of eating self-regulation for controlling college students' intake of sweets and soft drinks, and the negative effects of perceived stress and emotional eating on their dietary intake. Future interventions could consider strategies focusing on stress management and eating self-regulation to improve dietary intake among this young population.
本研究旨在探讨大学生感知压力、饮食自我调节、情绪性进食与饮食摄入之间的关系。本横断面研究招募了 523 名来自亚马逊 Mechanical Turk 的学生。所有参与者完成了一项在线调查，评估感知压力、饮食自我调节、情绪性进食、饮食摄入和人口统计学信息。研究样本中女性占 47%，西班牙裔占 30%，非裔占 8%，亚裔占 33%。超重和肥胖率为 33%。近 83%的人报告称压力处于中高水平，超过 80%的人饮食自我调节技能处于低至中等水平。平均而言，学生每天食用水果和蔬菜 2.42 次，甜食和软饮料约每两天一次。感知压力与情绪性进食呈正相关（β=0.12，p=0.005），与饮食自我调节呈负相关（β=-0.40，p<0.001）。饮食自我调节部分中介了感知压力与情绪性进食之间的关系（β=0.11，p<0.001）。情绪性进食与甜食和软饮料的摄入量呈正相关。饮食自我调节与甜食摄入量呈负相关（β=-0.19，p<0.001）。饮食自我调节和情绪性进食完全中介了感知压力与甜食摄入量之间的关系（β=0.09，p<0.001）。尽管需要进一步研究，但本研究结果强调了饮食自我调节对控制大学生甜食和软饮料摄入量的重要保护作用，以及感知压力和情绪性进食对其饮食摄入的负面影响。未来的干预措施可以考虑关注压力管理和饮食自我调节的策略，以改善这一年轻人群的饮食摄入。
