The Relationship Between Intuitive Eating and Diet Quality in a College Population

Abstract

Many college students have nutrient poor and energy dense diets and are also more likely to experience poor body image, which can result in unsafe dieting behaviors for the purpose of managing weight. Intuitive eating is an alternative approach to dieting that focuses on physiological hunger and fullness cues, while eating for both satisfaction and health without restriction of any foods. This study examined the association between intuitive eating and diet quality in a college population. College students, aged 18-56 years, completed an online survey which assessed intuitive eating using the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (IES-2) and diet quality using the Starting The Conversation (STC) simplified food frequency instrument. IES-2 total score was positively correlated with higher overall diet quality and was negatively correlated with fast food and chip consumption. Eating for physical rather than emotional reasons and body-food choice congruence IES-2 subscales were positively correlated with diet quality while the unconditional permission to eat subscale was negatively correlated with diet quality. Strategies that focus on eating for health and well-being and minimize emotional eating are associated with higher overall diet quality and may be incorporated in dietary interventions among college students aimed at promoting healthy behaviors.

Exploring the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 and Dyadic Associations Between Mental Health and Relational Dynamics in a Sample of Married Male Sexual Minority Couples

“…In terms of physical health, participants of health promotion and mindfulness-based interventions that incorporated intuitive eating principles showed increased moderate physical activity and decreased rates of lowdensity lipoprotein cholesterol levels and systolic bloodpressure at 2-year follow up as well as decreased c-reactive protein-a biomarker of inflammation and cardiovascular risk (Bacon et al, 2005;Dalen et al, 2010). These improvements in physical health indicators could result from the acknowledged relationship between intuitive eating and diet quality (Tabatabai et al, 2021).…”

Food Insecurity in Higher Education: A Contemporary Review of Impacts and Explorations of Solutions

“…Food choice is a complicated issue, comprising many motivators that vary in importance depending on individual circumstances [100][101][102]. In adults, factors considered in food choice can include hunger, personal identity, social connectedness, nutrition, knowledge and skills, habits, and many others [103][104][105][106]. Time commitments for class responsibilities may limit time to prepare and eat foods [7].…”