Evaluation of the association between nomophobia, mindful eating, and nutritional status

Objectives: The prevalence of nomophobia, defined as the fear of disconnecting from the mobile phone connection, has increased with the excessive use of mobile phones. Nomophobia is known to lead to various psychological problems such as low self-esteem, extroverted personality, social phobia, social anxiety and panic disorder, as well as unhealthy eating behaviors. For this reason, it is stated that it is important to raise awareness about the possible harms of excessive smartphone use and to inform all age groups. Methods: This study was conducted on university students between the ages of 18-30, who are smartphone users and whose smartphone usage time is at least 1 hour per day. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with the participants using a questionnaire form. “24-hour Dietary Recall” was used to determine the daily nutrients consumption levels of the students; ‘Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q)’ was used to determine nomophobia levels; and ‘Mindful Eating Questionnaire-MEQ’ was used to evaluate eating awareness. Results: The study included 622 participants (48.2% female; mean age: 19.2 ± 2.0 years). Higher nomophobia levels were significantly associated with lower mindful eating scores (p < 0.001), and a negative correlation was observed between the two variables. Additionally, it has been determined that the energy coming from fat in individuals' daily energy intake is above the recommended levels and has an unbalanced distribution. Conclusion: This study revealed that increased nomophobia levels in university students are associated with decreased eating awareness and unbalanced eating patterns. The findings indicate that smartphone addiction may have adverse effects on eating behaviors and that this relationship should be addressed more comprehensively in terms of public health.