38. The bidirectional relationship between stress, anxiety, and dietary behavior in psychological disorders

Abstract Background With the rapid changes in lifestyle and pace, the public is facing multiple pressures in social and work planning, which not only affect their mental health but may also have a significant impact on their dietary behavior. The relationship between stress and dietary behavior may be influenced by mediating variables such as emotional state and sleep quality, but existing research on these mechanisms is insufficient and lacks consistent conclusions. Therefore, the systematic exploration of the correlation between stress perception and dietary behavior in psychological disorders aims to reveal the chain mediated role of anxiety and sleep quality between stress perception and dietary behavior, and provide scientific basis and decision-making reference for dietary behavior intervention measures in psychotherapy activities. Methods The study used convenience sampling to select undergraduate students who had participated in stress management in universities as the research subjects. A questionnaire survey was conducted using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Self Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Dietary Behavior Scale. After obtaining the survey results, one-way ANOVA and multiple linear regression methods were used to explore the relationship between stress, anxiety, and dietary behavior. At the same time, the study used analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test whether the differences in the scores of dietary behavior and healthy eating awareness among students with different exercise frequencies were statistically significant. Results The experimental results showed a positive correlation between stress perception and eating behaviors such as snacking (0.17, p<.01), food response (0.16, p<.01), emotional eating (0.327, p<.01), restrictive eating (0.099, p<.01), and picky eating (0.222, p<.01). There is a negative correlation between perceived stress and awareness of healthy eating (-0.216, p<.01). There is a positive correlation between anxiety and eating behaviors such as snacking (0.181, p<.01), food response (0.135, p<.01), emotional eating (0.292, p<.01), restrictive eating (0.082, p<.01), and picky eating (0.197, p<.01). There is a negative correlation between anxiety and awareness of healthy eating (-0.139, p< .01). At the same time, college students who exercise more than 3 times a week scored lower in picky eating and emotional eating compared to the group of students who exercise very little, while scoring higher in restrictive eating and awareness of healthy eating compared to the group of students who exercise very little. Experiments have shown that when the subjects' perceived stress or anxiety levels increase, unhealthy eating behaviors also tend to increase. When an individual's awareness of healthy eating increases, their stress perception and anxiety levels may decrease. Discussion The research findings indicate a significant bidirectional relationship between stress, anxiety, and dietary behavior. Stress and anxiety not only affect dietary behavior, but changes in dietary behavior can also in turn affect an individual's levels of stress and anxiety. This discovery provides a new perspective for the prevention and treatment of psychological disorders, emphasizing the importance of considering dietary behavior when treating psychological disorders. The research also provides a theoretical basis for developing comprehensive psychological intervention measures, which may include stress management, anxiety treatment, and dietary behavior adjustment. Future research can further explore how to alleviate stress and anxiety by improving dietary behavior, as well as how to improve dietary behavior through stress and anxiety management.