Does obesity in young women associated with mindful eating and disordered eating behaviors?

Abstract

Background and aim: The onset of obesity has been associated with low levels of mindful eating and disordered eating behaviors. This study examined the relationship between mindful eating, disordered eating behavior and obesity in young women. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 227 young women aged between 19-35 years. Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ) and Eating Attitudes Test (EAT)-26 were used. Weight and body composition were obtained and the measurements of neck circumference (NC), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC) were measured. Body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were calculated. Results: Overall, the underweight participants had the highest MEQ scores, while the obese participants had the lowest MEQ scores (p<0.05). MEQ scores had a negative correlation with BMI, fat mass, WHR, WHtR, NC and WC (r=-0.216, p<0.01; r=-0.234, p < 0.01; r=-172, p<0.01 and r=-0.244, p<0.01, r=-0.145, p<0.05; r=-0.238, p<0.05, respectively). EAT-26 scores had a very weak positive correlation between WHtR (r=0.131, p<0.05). There is a very weak negative correlation between MEQ and EAT-26 scores (r=-0.072, p>0.05). Conclusion: To sum up, mindful eating and disordered eating behavior have negative relation between obesity. In future studies, conducting research on larger sample numbers will improve the findings on the subject. © Mattioli 1885.