Food cravings and its association with depression, anxiety, and stress among medical students

Food craving (intense desires for food), which is becoming increasingly common among young adults, can have several negative psychological and physical consequences. This study aims to determine the occurrence of clinically relevant food cravings among medical students, and to explore its association with stress, anxiety, and depression. A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to May 2025 in University of Fallujah, Iraq. Food Cravings Questionnaire- Trait-reduced (FCQ-T-r) was adopted for measuring the frequency and intensity of food cravings. Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-10) was used to measure the symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress among the participants. The total sample was 310 students, with mean age of 23 (+ 2.1), and females form 58.4%. More than quarter (26%) of the students were overweight, while 8.4% were obese. With respect to anxiety, depression, and stress, 36.5% of the students had moderate symptoms, while 30.6% of them expressed severe symptoms on DASS, with a statistically significant association between severity of symptoms and cravings. Those with severe symptoms had OR of 1.687 for clinically relevant food cravings compared to those with mild symptoms (C.I. = 1.158–2.457, p = 0.006). Students with high BMI index had OR of 3.35 for clinically relevant food cravings compared to those with lower BMI (C.I. = 2.119–5.295, p = 0.001). Moderate/severe symptoms of depression and anxiety on DASS was the most significant predictor of clinically relevant food cravings.