Intuitive eating and dietary intake: associations by food insecurity status

Abstract Intuitive eating is an eating approach guided by internal hunger and satiety cues rather than restrictive eating rules. University years are marked by greater autonomy in food choices, vulnerability to food insecurity and sex-related differences in eating behaviours. This study examined the associations between intuitive eating subdimensions and food group-specific consumption scores according to food insecurity status and sex among university students aged 19–24 years in Türkiye. In this cross-sectional study, 545 university students completed a web-based survey comprising the Intuitive Eating Scale-2, the Food Insecurity Experience Scale and a FFQ. These associations were analysed using structural equation modelling separately by sex and food insecurity status. Intuitive eating subdimensions predicted dietary intake in distinct and sometimes opposing directions, with these patterns varying across sex and food insecurity status ( p < 0·05). In males, intuitive eating subdimensions predicted intake of milk and dairy products, meat, eggs and legumes and vegetables and fruits; in females, they predicted similar food groups, as well as sugars and sweets and fast foods. Among individuals experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity, these patterns varied across food groups. The body–food choice congruence subdimension generally positively predicted healthier food groups, whereas eating for physical rather than emotional reasons negatively predicted sugars and sweets and fast foods. Unconditional permission to eat positively predicted the consumption of energy-dense foods, while reliance on hunger and satiety cues showed context-dependent patterns. In conclusion, associations between intuitive eating and dietary intake varied by sex and food insecurity status.