Evaluation of the relationship between nutritional habits, use of nutritional supplements and intuitive eating of healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the nutritional habits, use of nutritional supplements and intuitive eating of healthcare professionals between the ages of 18 and 65 living in Türkiye during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study was conducted with a total of 252 participants (208 female, 44 male) between February 1 and May 1, 2021. Data were obtained from an online questionnaire form, which included a questionnaire consisting of questions about the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants, their nutritional habits, anthropometric measurements and nutritional supplements and the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (IES). While the mean IES score of the participants was 3.35±0.44, it was 3.46±0.39 for males and 3.33±0.44 for females. The mean scores of participants from Unconditional Permission to Eat, Eating For Physical Rather Than Emotional Reasons, Reliance on Hunger and Satiety Cues and Body-Food Choice Congruence sub-dimensions of the scale were 3.16±0.67, 3.21±0.82, 3.58±0.79 and 3.59±0.70, respectively. A total of 27.8% of the participants were found to use nutritional supplements. There was no statistically significant relationship between the total score of IES and the sub-dimension mean scores and the status of the use of nutritional supplements. As a result of the study, a negative statistically significant relationship was found between the Body Mass Index values of the participants and the IES (p<0.001). In other words, as the BMI value increases, intuitive eating levels decrease. Improving the level of intuitive eating would be a helpful factor in controlling body weight.