Publication Date
3-1-2025
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Preventive Medicine Reports
Volume
51
DOI
10.1016/j.pmedr.2025.103010
Abstract
Objectives: This cross-sectional study examined the association between food insecurity and emotional eating and explored correlations between emotional eating and dietary behavior in the U.S during the pandemic. Methods: Participants (N = 515, 77.1 % female, 44.1 ± 14.7 years old) completed a validated online survey between August and November of 2020 including questions about food security and eating behaviors. A multivariable linear regression model was used to evaluate the association between food insecurity and emotional eating. Pearson correlations were calculated to assess the relationship between emotional eating and dietary behavior Results: Overall, 31.3 % of the participants experienced food insecurity. Food insecurity was associated with higher emotional eating in the crude model (beta = 0.33; 95 % confidence level [CL]: 0.15, 0.52), but not in the fully adjusted regression model (beta = 0.15; 95 % CL: −0.06, 0.37). Intakes of sugary snacks (r = 0.16, p < 0.01) and salty snacks (r = 0.14, p < 0.01) were weakly positively correlated with higher emotional eating scores, while the intakes of vegetables (r = −0.13, p < 0.01) and alcohol (r = −0.09, p = 0.03) were negatively correlated with emotional eating Conclusions: In this study, emotional eating was not associated with food insecurity and was weakly positively correlated with the intake of energy-dense foods. The relationship between food insecurity and emotional eating is complex and not yet clearly defined. Examination of longitudinal associations between emotional eating, food insecurity, and energy-dense foods is warranted.
Keywords
COVID-19, Diet intake, Emotional eating, Food access, Food security
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Department
Public Health and Recreation; Nutrition, Food Science and Packaging
Recommended Citation
Andreza S.B. Souza, Marcelle M. Dougan, and Giselle A.P. Pignotti. "The relationship between food insecurity and emotional eating during the coronavirus pandemic in northern California" Preventive Medicine Reports (2025). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2025.103010
