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Adverse Effect of Emotional Eating Developed During the COVID-19 Pandemic on Healthy Nutrition, a Vicious Circle: A cross-sectional descriptive study

Introduction: Because of the new type of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) seen worldwide, many countries have a difficult time both in terms of health and economy. It is thought that infection and fear of death owing to the disease may cause a disturbance in the individuals’ psychology. Moreover, precautions such as social distancing and quarantine to prevent the spread of the disease and the prolongation of these interventions may further aggravate the conditions, such as mood disorders and stress. This study was aimed to determine the emotional eating status of individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic and to determine its effect on a healthy eating attitude.Material and methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study with a total number of 578 adults without COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment (422 [73%] women, 156 [27%] men). The study was conducted using the Google Forms web survey platform. The link to the survey was shared via WhatsApp and Instagram. The participants were asked to share the study link to reach out to as many potential participants as possible throughout the nation using the method known as snowball sampling. A questionnaire form which includes sociodemographic characteristics, the Turkish version of the Emotional Eater Questionnaire (EEQ-TR), and the Attitude Scale for Healthy Nutrition (ASHN) were applied to the participants. EEQ-TR and ASHN forms were answered twice, retrospectively for the pre-COVID period and prospectively during the COVID period.Results: While average emotional eating scores increased compared to pre-COVID-19 scores, individuals shifted from low-level emotional eaters to emotional eaters (p < 0.000). On the other hand, the average ASHN scores decreased, and individuals shifted from the middle-level healthy eating attitude to a low level (p < 0.000). As the quarantine period increased, emotional eating, body weight, and body mass index (BMI) increased, and healthy eating attitude decreased (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Individuals’ emotional eating increased due to social distancing, self-quarantine, or isolation in the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes are found to be effective in healthy eating in a negative way. Long-term unhealthy eating is not recommended for people’s health. Therefore, it is necessary to inform individuals about stress management, healthy nutrition, the importance of regular exercise, and sleep patterns.