Associations among grazing behavior, emotional eating, and psychological well-being in university students

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Abstract
This study aimed to examine the associations among grazing behavior, emotional eating, and psychological well-being and to identify variables statistically associated with emotional eating among university students. A descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational design was employed. Data were collected from 540 students between May and July 2025 through face-to-face interviews using a personal information form, the Grazing Questionnaire, the Emotional Eating Scale, and the Psychological Well-Being Scale. Descriptive statistics, including frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations, were calculated. Sociodemographic differences were analyzed using independent samples t -tests and 1-way analysis of variance, while relationships between scales were examined with Pearson correlation analysis. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to identify variables statistically associated with emotional eating. Of the participants, 71.9% (n = 388) were female. On average, students reported low levels of grazing behavior, exhibited emotional eating behaviors, and demonstrated moderate levels of psychological well-being according to scale scores. A significant positive correlation was found between grazing behavior and emotional eating, whereas psychological well-being was significantly negatively correlated with emotional eating. In the regression model, grazing behavior showed the strongest positive association with emotional eating. The model including grazing behavior, psychological well-being, body mass index, and gender explained 36.6% of the variance in total emotional eating scores. These findings suggest that university-based counseling programs, public health initiatives, and psychological support interventions may help address grazing and emotional eating behaviors among students.

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