Evaluation of the relationship between intuitive eating, mindful eating, body weight, and eating disorders: path analysis research on future health professionals

Intuitive and mindful eating are included in the current literature as two adaptable, current, and positive eating styles. This descriptive-cross-sectional study included 689 university students. The questionnaire form consists of the nutritional habits and anthropometric measurements of university students, "Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ)", "Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (IES-2)", "Eating Attitudes Test-Short Form (EAT-26)", and the "International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF)". About 70.4% of participants with a mean age of 19.76 ± 1.32 years were classified as "normal" according to BMI; the mean BMI was 21.9 ± 3.2 kg/m2. IES-2 and MEQ scores of overweight/obese students are lower than those of underweight and normal-weight students (p < 0.01). A strong negative correlation exists between BMI, MEQ (r = -.134), IES-2 (r = -.353), and IPAQ-SF (r = -.127), and a strong positive correlation with EAT-26 (r = .209; p < 0.01). Standardized coefficients in the path model between IES and BMI (β= -0.314, R = -.167, p < 0.01), EAT (β= -0.221, R = -3.32, p < 0.01), MEQ (β = 0.304, R = 0.188, p < 0.01) indicate that intuitive eating significantly affects the BMI, eating attitudes, and mindful eating. Intuitive eating and mindful eating may be a promising, holistic, and long-term treatment approach for future health professionals by integrating traditional body weight management strategies.