Psychological factors predicting emotional eating in university students: challenges for health and overall well-being

Introduction: in recent years, emotional eating has received increasing attention due to its impact on health and well-being. Various studies have shown that emotions can influence eating patterns, leading individuals to eat in response to affective states rather than physiological needs. Objective: to determine whether depression, anxiety, and stress predict emotional eating in a sample of university students from the Peruvian Amazon. Methodology: a quantitative approach was adopted, using a non-experimental predictive design. The sample consisted of 436 university students who completed the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Emotional Eating Questionnaire, both instruments with adequate psychometric properties. Results: the regression model was statistically significant (F= 75.692, p<0.05), explaining 34.5% of the variance in emotional eating (R²= 0.345). Among the variables assessed, de-pression (β= 0.153, p<0.05), anxiety (β= 0.227, p<0.05), and stress (β= 0.258, p<0.05) significantly predicted higher levels of emotional eating. Additionally, it was observed that women exhibited higher levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and emotional eating, while younger students showed higher levels of anxiety (p<0.05). On the other hand, no statistically significant differences were found based on employment status or relationship status, except for anxiety (p>0.05). Discussion: although some studies support these findings, further research is needed to corroborate and expand upon these results. Conclusions: depression, anxiety, and stress significantly predict emotional eating among university students from the Peruvian Amazon.