Emotional eating behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

Summary Background & aims The study aimed to evaluate emotional eating tendency of Turkish individuals during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods The study comprised an online questionnaire and it was conducted from August to September 2020. The survey was distributed through social networks. Results A total of 1626 adults have been included in the study, aged between 18 and 65 years (69.6% females and 30.4% males). The average BMI of all participants was 24.4 ± 4.7 kg/m2, 6% were underweight, and 11.6% were obese. A total of 32.7% of the participants had an increase in appetite and 34.4% had a weight gain. It was found that most of the participants (75.7%) were emotional eaters at different levels. Emotional eating was more common in obese people (43.5%) than normal weight (33.5%) and underweight (18.4%) people. It was examined the increasing food intake according to the BMI, the obese increased the consumption of fresh vegetables, fruits, pastries, and, eggs; underweight increased the consumption of fresh vegetables and fruits, milk and, eggs. As in other countries, a weight gain was observed in the individuals. However, the participants resorted to emotional eating to cope with negative emotions such as depression, anxiety, and stress caused by the pandemic. Conclusions In this study, it has been provided preliminary data that can be used in future studies to determine the emotional eating behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.