The relationship between sleep quality and hedonic hunger in individuals with overweight and obesity: A comparative study

We aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep quality and hedonic hunger in Individuals with Overweight and Obesity. We conducted this cross-sectional correlational study with 303 adults, including 187 adults with overweight and 116 adults with obesity. We collected the data through the face-to-face interview method with a questionnaire which has the following four tools: the Descriptive Information Form, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Power of Food Scale (PFS) and Palatable Eating Motives Scale (PEMS). According to their PSQI scores, 35.6% of the participants had poor sleep quality. There was no difference between the individuals with overweight and obesity in terms of the prevalence of poor sleep quality (p>0.05). There was no difference between the individuals with overweight and obesity in terms of the prevalence of poor sleep quality (p>0.05). In the total sample, PSQI score was positively associated with the PFS Food Tasted subscale (β = 0.414, 95% CI: 0.019 to 0.809), the overall PEMS score (β = 0.600, 95% CI: 0.059 to 1.140), and the PEMS Social Motive subscale (β = 0.422, 95% CI: 0.023 to 0.822). In the overweight subgroup, PSQI score was positively associated with the overall PEMS score (β = 0.687, 95% CI: 0.003 to 1.371) and the PEMS Coping Motive subscale (β = 0.604, 95% CI: 0.123 to 1.085), whereas no significant associations were observed in the obese subgroup. Overall, higher hedonic eating motives (particularly coping and social motives) were associated with poorer sleep quality in adults with higher weight.