Association Between Mediterranean Diet Adherence and Intuitive and Mindful Eating in Turkish Young Adults

TL;DR

This study found that following a Mediterranean diet is linked to more intuitive and mindful eating behaviors in Turkish young adults.

Contribution

The novel contribution is identifying that Mediterranean diet adherence independently predicts intuitive and mindful eating, even after controlling for various factors.

Findings

Mediterranean diet adherence was positively associated with intuitive and mindful eating behaviors.

BMI had divergent associations: negative with intuitive eating and positive with mindful eating.

The effect sizes of diet adherence on eating behaviors were modest but statistically significant.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: This study aimed to examine the association between Mediterranean diet adherence and adaptive eating behaviors, specifically intuitive eating and mindful eating, among Turkish young adults. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 2293 young adults aged 18–34 years who completed an online survey between December 2023 and March 2024. Data were collected using the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Scale (MEDAS), Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (IES-2), and Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ-30). One-way ANOVA compared eating behavior scores across adherence groups. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses examined the unique contribution of MEDAS scores after controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, health, lifestyle, and nutritional factors. Results: Among the participants, 64.5% demonstrated low, 27.0% moderate, and 8.4% high Mediterranean diet adherence. ANOVA revealed significant differences in both IES-2 and MEQ-30 scores across groups. In hierarchical regression, MEDAS significantly predicted intuitive eating (B = 0.023, p = 0.004, contributing 10.72% to explained variance) and mindful eating (B = 0.776, p = 0.001, contributing 13.61%) after controlling for all covariates. BMI emerged as the strongest predictor for both outcomes, with divergent associations: negative for intuitive eating and positive for mindful eating. Final models explained 5.8% and 6.2% of variance in IES-2 and MEQ-30, respectively. Conclusions: Mediterranean diet adherence demonstrated significant positive associations with both intuitive and mindful eating behaviors, independent of multiple confounders. Although effect sizes were modest, these findings suggest that promoting Mediterranean dietary patterns may complement interventions aimed at fostering adaptive eating behaviors. The divergent BMI associations warrant further investigation.