The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the daily routines and mental health of many people, including university students. A recent study examined the nutritional habits and eating attitudes of female health science students in Spain during the last wave of the pandemic. The researchers found that students who exhibited emotional eating – eating in response to negative emotions like stress, boredom, or anxiety – had poorer dietary quality, higher alcohol consumption, and more symptoms of food addiction compared to their non-emotional eating peers. These findings shed light on the complex relationship between emotional distress, eating behaviors, and overall health among young adults during challenging times. Emotional eating, Mediterranean diet, and food addiction are all important factors that can influence the nutritional status and well-being of university students, especially during periods of heightened stress and uncertainty.
Pandemic’s Impact on University Students’ Eating Habits
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted the daily lives and routines of people around the world, including university students. Lockdowns, social distancing, and the stress of the public health crisis have led to changes in eating behaviors and overall dietary quality for many individuals. For some young adults, these disruptions have resulted in increased emotional eating – the tendency to turn to food, especially comfort foods high in sugar or fat, as a way to cope with negative emotions like boredom, loneliness, or anxiety.
A recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports examined the nutritional habits and eating attitudes of female health science students in Spain during the last wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers were particularly interested in understanding the differences between students who exhibited emotional eating behaviors and those who did not.
Emotional Eating and Unhealthy Dietary Patterns
The study found that students classified as “emotional eaters” based on their responses to a validated questionnaire had several concerning dietary patterns compared to their “non-emotional eater” peers. Emotional eaters consumed a higher percentage of their total energy intake from carbohydrates, fats, and saturated fats, and they also had a significantly higher alcohol intake.
Additionally, emotional eaters had a poorer overall diet quality as measured by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI). Only about 41% of emotional eaters had a “good” HEI score, compared to 50% of non-emotional eaters. Emotional eaters also showed more symptoms of food addiction, with 17% classified as having a mild food addiction.
These findings suggest that the stress and disruption of the pandemic may have exacerbated unhealthy coping mechanisms, leading emotional eaters to rely more heavily on calorie-dense, nutrient-poor foods and alcohol to manage their negative emotions. This pattern can have serious implications for both physical and mental health, potentially increasing the risk of weight gain, obesity, usedisorder’>substance use disorders.
Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet
The study also examined the students’ adherence to the Click Here
