From climate change worry to mindful eating for planetary health: a cross-sectional study of eating-related eco-concern

Climate change worry is increasingly discussed as a psychological response to environmental change, yet its relationship with food-specific ecological concern and mindful eating is not well understood. This study examined the association between climate change worry and expanded mindful eating among adults and tested whether eating-related eco-concern statistically mediated this relationship. This cross-sectional study included 751 adults aged 19–65 years residing in Ankara, Türkiye. Data were collected using a web-based questionnaire that included a socio-demographic form, the Climate Change Worry Scale, the Eating-Related Eco-Concern Scale, and the Expanded Mindful Eating Scale. Participants who reported a professionally diagnosed chronic disease, psychiatric condition, or eating disorder, and pregnant or breastfeeding women, were excluded. Associations were examined using Pearson correlation and linear regression analyses. Mediation was tested with Hayes PROCESS Model 4 using 5,000 bootstrap resamples. Climate change worry was strongly correlated with eating-related eco-concern ( r = 0.80, p < 0.001) and moderately correlated with expanded mindful eating ( r = 0.54, p < 0.001). In the regression model, climate change worry showed the strongest association with eating-related eco-concern (β = 0.65, p < 0.001). Eating-related eco-concern partially mediated the association between climate change worry and total mindful eating (indirect effect = 0.30; 95% bootstrap CI: 0.24, 0.37). For the Health of the Planet subdimension, the direct effect of climate change worry was no longer significant after inclusion of eating-related eco-concern (indirect effect = 0.16; 95% bootstrap CI: 0.13, 0.19). General climate change worry was associated with expanded mindful eating, with a statistically significant indirect association through eating-related eco-concern. The Health of the Planet component of mindful eating was statistically accounted for more specifically by food-related ecological concern. These cross-sectional findings should be interpreted as statistical associations rather than evidence of a causal psychological pathway. Sustainable nutrition messages may benefit from linking climate change worry to concrete, manageable food-related actions without relying on fear-based appeals.