(P13-011-25) Diet Quality Moderating Emotional Intelligence and Disordered Eating Behaviors: Insights Across School Years

Objectives: Young adulthood is a critical stage marked by continuous psychosocial development, during which many university students face challenges related to eating disorders, poor dietary habits, and emotional well-being. The transition to university life often triggers stress and contributes to the adoption of unhealthy eating behaviors, as students navigate increased autonomy. This study seeks to examine the relationship between diet quality, emotional intelligence (EI), and pathological eating behaviors (PEB), with a particular focus on both first-year students and upperclassmen.

Methods: A total of 1,386 participants aged 18 and older completed an anonymous questionnaire that included demographic questions, the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q), the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue), and the Food-Mood Questionnaire.  Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Pearson Correlation Coefficient analysis were conducted using SPSS version 28. Comparisons were made between first-year students and second years or beyond.

Results: The findings reveal that upperclassmen are less likely to consume fast food (p < 0.05), show less concern about being observed while eating (p < 0.05), but are more inclined to adhere to specific dietary rules aimed at altering body shape (p < 0.01). Among upperclassmen, positive correlations were identified between increased fish consumption and preoccupation with food, eating, calories, and body shape or weight, which in turn impaired their ability to focus on other interests (p < 0.01). Notably, underclassmen who consumed more fish showed a negative correlation with experiencing distress when asked to weigh themselves (p < 0.05). Upperclassmen who consumed more red meat, chicken, or turkey exhibited negative correlations with difficulties in emotion regulation (p < 0.01) and a pessimistic outlook (p < 0.01). In contrast, underclassmen with similar meat consumption exhibited fewer significant correlations with emotional intelligence.

Conclusions: Upperclassmen exhibited greater attention to diet and more correlations between diet quality and PEB and EI in comparison to underclassmen. Overall, diet quality emerged as a moderating factor, with students showing higher susceptibility to emotional triggers leading to PEB when consuming nutrient-poor diets.

Funding Sources: No funding sources