A few clicks away: Emotional eating, but not external and restrained eating, predicts online food delivery use

IF 2.8 3区医学 Q2 PSYCHIATRY

Eating behaviors Pub Date : 2026-01-01 Epub Date: 2026-01-18 DOI:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2026.102071

Francantonio Devoto , Carol Coricelli , Margaux Girati , Laura Zapparoli

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Online Food Delivery (OFD) services have grown rapidly in popularity, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. While these platforms offer substantial convenience, their association with the increased consumption of energy-dense foods has raised public health concerns. To date, research on OFD use has focused on sociodemographic or lifestyle factors, with relatively little attention given to psychological determinants.

The present study addressed this gap by examining whether individual differences in eating styles - emotional, external, and restrained eating - predict OFD use beyond basic sociodemographic variables, and whether these effects interact with body mass index (BMI).

Eighty-one adult participants completed an online survey assessing OFD use patterns and eating styles using the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analyses tested the incremental predictive value of sociodemographics, eating styles, and eating style × BMI interactions in predicting OFD use.

Results indicated that people who identified as female and individuals with higher BMI reported more frequent use of OFD. Notably, emotional eating emerged as a significant positive predictor of OFD use, even after adjusting for sociodemographic variables and other eating styles. External and restrained eating was unrelated to OFD behavior. Eating styles did not interact with BMI in predicting OFD use.

These findings highlight emotional eating as a key psychological driver of OFD use, suggesting that emotional eaters may rely on such platforms as a coping mechanism for emotional distress. Future research should consider the role of state-level variables and explore potential associations between different eating styles and categories of food ordered.

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点击几下鼠标：情绪性饮食，而非外在和克制性饮食，预测了在线外卖的使用

在线送餐（OFD）服务迅速普及，特别是在2019冠状病毒病大流行之后。虽然这些平台提供了极大的便利，但它们与高能量食品消费增加的关联引发了公众对健康的担忧。迄今为止，关于OFD使用的研究主要集中在社会人口统计学或生活方式因素上，相对较少关注心理因素。目前的研究通过检查饮食方式的个体差异——情绪性、外源性和克制性饮食——是否预测了基本社会人口变量之外的OFD使用，以及这些影响是否与体重指数（BMI）相互作用，解决了这一差距。81名成年参与者通过荷兰饮食行为问卷完成了一项在线调查，评估了OFD的使用模式和饮食方式。分层回归分析检验了社会人口统计学、饮食方式和饮食方式× BMI相互作用在预测OFD使用中的增量预测价值。结果表明，女性和BMI较高的个体报告更频繁地使用OFD。值得注意的是，即使在调整了社会人口变量和其他饮食方式之后，情绪化饮食也成为了OFD使用的重要积极预测因素。外食和节制饮食与OFD行为无关。饮食方式与BMI在预测OFD使用方面没有相互作用。这些发现强调情绪性进食是OFD使用的关键心理驱动因素，表明情绪性进食者可能依赖于这些平台作为情绪困扰的应对机制。未来的研究应该考虑国家层面变量的作用，并探索不同饮食方式和所订购食物类别之间的潜在联系。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Eating behaviors Multiple-

CiteScore

4.20

自引率

3.60%

发文量

审稿时长

60 days

期刊介绍： Eating Behaviors is an international peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing human research on the etiology, prevention, and treatment of obesity, binge eating, and eating disorders in adults and children. Studies related to the promotion of healthy eating patterns to treat or prevent medical conditions (e.g., hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cancer) are also acceptable. Two types of manuscripts are encouraged: (1) Descriptive studies establishing functional relationships between eating behaviors and social, cognitive, environmental, attitudinal, emotional or biochemical factors; (2) Clinical outcome research evaluating the efficacy of prevention or treatment protocols.