Emotional eating (EE) is considered as the inclination to eat in response to emotions and is associated with certain syndromes. In this sense, we explored the indices of EE and its association with dietary patterns among female students at Qassim University in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study of 380 participants (aged 18-29 years, female students) was performed. Anthropometric measurements of the participants were taken, such as height, body mass index, fat mass and hip-waist circumference as well as the Emotional Eating Scale (EES). The classification of the ESS included the thresholds of 44.7, 43.9 and 11.3% for low, moderate and high EE, respectively. Linear regression after adjustment showed that fat intake was a significant predictor of EE (p = 0.031) as well as feelings of enthusiasm. We also observed an interesting indication: fat intake (p = 0.011) and educational level (p < 0.05) were significantly associated with, and could be significant predictors of, EE. The results highlight the importance of emotional eating, its relationship with the consumption of foods that contain fat and understanding how it develops by raising awareness of the importance of healthy food for a healthy lifestyle.
Keywords: dietary patterns; emotional eating; food frequency questionnaire; nutrition; students; university.