From eveningness to food addiction: exploring the roles of night eating syndrome and mindful eating.

Background: Chronotype is a key biopsychosocial factor that regulates individuals' sleep-wake cycles and daily activities while also shaping their eating behaviors. Eveningness has been associated with maladaptive eating patterns such as food addiction and night eating syndrome, with mindful eating considered a critical factor in these associations.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the direct relationships among eveningness, night eating syndrome, and food addiction, and to investigate the mediating role of night eating syndrome and the moderating role of mindful eating in these associations.

Methods: This exploratory cross-sectional study was conducted with 490 adults. Participants completed validated measures including the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ), the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ^c), and the Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ^m). To identify predictors and risk factors of food addiction and night eating syndrome were examined using binary logistic regression and hierarchical linear regression models. Mediation and moderation analyses were conducted using the PROCESS macro (Model 4 and Model 1). Model 4 tested the indirect pathways from chronotype to food addiction through night eating syndrome. Model 1 examined the moderating role of mindful eating in the associations between night eating syndrome and food addiction, as well as between chronotype and food addiction.

Results: Correlation analyses showed that NEQ was positively associated with YFAS symptom counts (r = 0.166, p < 0.001), whereas MEQ^m was inversely related to both (r = -0.313 to -0.183, p < 0.001). Linear regression analyses indicated that greater night eating syndrome symptom severity predicted higher food addiction symptom counts (B = 0.026, p < 0.001), whereas mindful eating predicted fewer food addiction symptoms (B = -3.400, p < 0.001). Logistic regression further showed that night eating syndrome (OR = 1.060, p < 0.001) increased the risk of food addiction, whereas mindful eating (OR = 0.152, p < 0.001) reduced it. Path analyses indicated that night eating syndrome mediated the association between eveningness and food addiction, whereas mindful eating partially moderated the relationship between night eating syndrome and food addiction.

Conclusions: This study shows interrelations among chronotype, night eating syndrome, and mindful eating in relation to food addiction. Mindful eating was inversely associated with food addiction symptoms and was found to condition the association between night eating syndrome and food addiction. Trial registration This study did not involve a clinical intervention requiring trial registration.