Emotional eating mediates the relationship between perceived stress and body appreciation in adult male and female: A cross-sectional study in Turkey

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between adults' perceived stress, emotional eating, and body appreciation. The Emotional Eater Questionnaire (EES), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) were completed by 710 adult participants. Emotional eating was found to be adversely related to body appreciation in both female (=−0.232, p: <.001) and male (β = −0.180, p < .05). The study's findings highlighted the harmful impacts of perceived stress and emotional eating on the range of body appreciation. This finding shows that stress and emotion management should be considered in the context of adult body appreciation practices.