Emotional Eating and Self-Compassion in People with Obesity: The Mediating Role of Emotional Processing

This study aimed to investigate the structural model of emotional eating and self-compassion in people with obesity with the mediating role of emotional processing. The study method was cross-sectional and Correlational. A total of 378 (136 males, 242 females) obese individuals were selected by stage sampling method. All the participants responded to Emotional Eating Questionnaire (Dach, 1986), Self-Compassion Questionnaire (Reese & Neff, 2011), and Emotional Processing Questionnaire (Baker, Thomas, Gore, Santonastazo, & Whiteley, 2010). Structural equation modeling was used to answer the research hypotheses. The results showed that there was a significant direct and negative relationship between self-compassion and emotional eating, a significant indirect and negative relationship between self-compassion and emotional processing, and a significant indirect and negative relationship between emotional processing with emotional eating. It can be concluded from the results that self-compassion affects emotional eating through emotional processing. Therefore, the present study demonstrates the importance of self-compassion and emotional processing in emotional eating in people with obesity.