Evaluation of Perceived Stress, Social Support, and Emotional Eating in Bezmialem Faculty of Medicine Students: A Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: A balanced diet is essential for overall health because it provides necessary nutrients. Eating disorders present medical and psychological risks that affect one's quality of life. Emotional eating can result from negative situations. Studies show that sadness has a greater impact on food consumption than happiness, leading to a 30-48% appetite fluctuation. Stress not only affects psychological health and influences food choices. Social support, typically from family and friends, provides both physical and psychological aid, addressing fundamental social needs and positively impacting overall well-being. Medical students facing intense stress during clinical courses are considered a risk group for emotional eating due to stressors. Method: Our study was conducted with Bezmialem Vakıf University, Faculty of Medicine students. Data were collected using the Demographic form, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale, Social Support Scale, and Emotional Eating Scale. The resulting data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 22.0. Results: Among the students participating in the study (n=70), 35.7% were male and 64.3% were female. A significant positive correlation was observed between Perceived Stress and Emotional Eating Scales (r=0.246; p<0.05). Additionally, there was a significant positive correlation between Beck Anxiety and Depression Inventory and the Emotional Eating Scale (r=0.504; p<0.05, r=0.432; p<0.05, respectively). Furthermore, a significant negative correlation was found between the Social Support Scale and the Emotional Eating Scale (r=-0.272; p<0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that stressful lifestyles can have a real impact on the development of emotional eating problems among medical students. Medical schools should closely monitor the mental well-being of students and encourage them to develop healthy lifestyles, optimize coping styles, and establish sources of social support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]