Associations between body image, well-being and eating behaviors in Lebanese adults aged between 18 and 35 years: a cross-sectional study

Eating behaviors are strongly related to body image and well-being. Psychological distress and body image dissatisfaction can be observed alongside maladaptive eating patterns, including emotional, restrained, and external eating behaviors. Therefore, this study examined associations of eating behaviors, body image, well-being, and sociodemographic and anthropometric factors in young Lebanese adults, with restrained, emotional, and external eating and diet quality analyzed alongside body shape concerns and well-being, extending prior Lebanese research. A cross-sectional study was conducted for a duration of 9 months on 460 randomly selected Lebanese individuals aged between 18 and 35 years from all Lebanese governorates. An in-person interview was carried out to collect data from the participants. The questionnaire comprises six sections: sociodemographic information, anthropomorphic measurements, the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire, the short Healthy Eating Index survey, the WHO 5 well-being index score, and the Body Shape Questionnaire-16. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the sample characteristics. Group comparisons were conducted via independent t-tests and ANOVA, associations were examined via Spearman correlation, and predictors were assessed via linear regression. Most of the participants were female, single, had a university degree, fell into the normal body mass index category, had no body shape concerns and reported moderate to high well-being. Emotional and restrained eating behaviors were positively correlated with body shape. External eating, emotional eating and sugar consumption were negatively correlated with well-being, whereas diet quality and vegetable consumption were positively correlated with well-being. The relationships among eating behaviors, body image, and well-being are complex. Unhealthy eating behaviors associated with body image dissatisfaction and poorer well-being may be linked to greater mental health challenges. Understanding these relationships highlights the importance of collaborative approaches to address eating behaviors, body image and well-being problems to improve overall physical and mental health.